Your Weekend Guide (May 5, 2016)
PERFORMANCE
Comedy Manila’s Funny Fridays, stand-up comedy nights every Friday until May 26 at Teatrino at Greenhills Promenade, Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan.
Easing the damage of the fashion industry
Have you ever wondered how your clothes were made?
This is the same question that people behind U.K.‑based organization Fashion Revolution have been urging fashion consumers to ask since 2013. The organization was established following the collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh in April 2013 that killed more than 1,000 workers. The plaza was home to American, Canadian, and European clothing labels.
In celebration of Earth Day, Fashion Revolution conducted a series of events in the Philippines to promote its campaign for ethical fashion, including a workshop called “Identify Solutions for Eco‑Fashion Businesses,” held on April 27 in BGC, Taguig City.
During the event, fashion students and social entrepreneurs laid out plans for local fashion brands to address production and selling issues.
In an interview with SparkUp, Hannah Theisen, a member of the organization who also runs a blog about ethical fashion, said promoting local eco‑fashion brands can help ease the damage that the fashion industry can cause to the environment. However, she noted that promoting these brands will need thorough education for Filipino consumers.
Ms. Theisen said consumers today are now more inquisitive about how products in the market are made. “Consumers are demanding [ethical practices],” she said. “It’s becoming more and more common especially for millennials to really think about where the products that they are consuming come from. It’s important to us as young consumers to support and buy from companies that [are ethical].”
She said a company’s success “should not come at the expense of the people working for them and of the environment.”
Already, Filipinos are embracing this advocacy.
Last April 22, a fashion show entitled “Green Fashion Revolution” was held at one of the largest, most expensive venues to rent in the country, the SMX Convention Center.
The elaborate gala was organized by Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., a publicly listed company engaged in various business activities including power generation, banking and financial services, food manufacturing, real estate development and infrastructure. Though the company does not have interests in fashion retail, its eponymous foundation holds an annual fashion competition called as part of its efforts to promote environmental conservation and biodiversity enhancement.
On the sixth run of the competition held this year, teams from three schools—De La Salle College of Saint Benilde (DLS‑CSB), Asia Pacific College (APC), and SoFA Design Institute (SoFA)—sashayed onstage in clothes that were crafted from 200 kilos of waste material from the company’s business units.
The team from SoFA won the grand prize with their collection called “Pagbabago,” which was comprised of mangrove trees‑inspired pieces. The collection features skirts and dresses made from flour sacks, striped jeans made from discarded denim as well as sweaters and coats made from upholstery fabrics, among others. For this they made ₱50,000 as their own prize and won another ₱50,000 for their chosen beneficiary.
DLS‑CSB bagged the second prize with their collection called “Retaso,” which included pieces mostly made of used denims while APC placed third with its collection called “Abaddon,” featuring pieces made mostly from coffee‑dyed flour sacks.
“With more participation from more schools, hopefully, it would be even bigger next time. But the more important thing is it creates awareness,” Ms. Marasigan said. “As we develop, more and more people are gonna look for companies that are ethical—businesses with a purpose. And it is important for any organization to have a purpose and to be ethical because that’s the only way for them to grow and sustain the business,” Ms. Marasigan said.
Ethical fashion is enjoying the limelight at the moment—and more Filipinos are getting into it. Francis Sollano, a World Economic Forum Global Shaper for “trashion” (a contraction of trash and fashion), will be exhibiting his works from May 10 to 12 at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The exhibition entitled “Fashion to Dye For” is inspired by the environmental impact brought about by the rapid economic growth in the region.
In a previous interview he had said this: “We have to push for enterprises to go back to the roots of what enterprises were designed for—and that is to improve the state of our societies.”
Displaying your status by how you present yourself is one thing. Being more careful about the ethical practices of your clothes requires more work, but at least in the future, you’re sure that the world still has enough material for you to wear.
Photos courtesy of Aboitiz Foundation‘s Green Fashion Revolution
Photo Anissa Martha Gomez, Fashion Revolution Philippines
There’s a free way to study in ‘land of the free’
IN THE PHILIPPINES, where education is of a great value, embarking on an educational journey abroad has always been among the biggest dreams of many Filipinos. Aside from academic gains, studying overseas also allows students to travel to new places, meet new people, and experience different cultures.
Among the countries where Filipinos dream of studying is the United States. Why not? After all, it is home to some of the world’s oldest and most prestigious universities like Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University, and Stanford University, to name a few.
But taking a study trip to what is called the “land of the free” is expensive. Oftentimes, only those who come from affluent families get the chance to have this inimitable experience.
In a bid to provide Filipinos with the opportunity to study in the U.S., the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) renewed its partnership with Philippine‑American Educational Foundation (PAEF) for the continuation of the Fulbright‑CHED Scholarships program.
Established in September last year, the program allows qualified faculty and staff from colleges and universities across the country to pursue master’s and doctoral studies, including thesis or dissertation research in the U.S.
Selected scholars are given funding to cover their study and living expenses for the whole duration of their course, including round‑trip international travel fare, monthly maintenance allowance, tuition, book/supply allowance, as well as health and accident insurance.
Interested applicants must have at least two years teaching stint in their chosen field of specialization and must be currently employed in a CHED‑authorized school. Those applying for a master’s degree program must not be older than 42 years old while those who opt to pursue a doctoral degree must not exceed the maximum age requirement of 40 years. Doctoral dissertation research applicants must not be over 50 years old.
As part of the grant’s terms and conditions, scholars are required to return and teach in the Philippines upon the attainment of their degree.
During its launch in 2016, a total of 17 scholars were chosen to take their graduate degrees in different fields in the U.S., including entrepreneurship, interior design, socio‑cultural anthropology, agricultural education, fisheries technology, as well as maritime law and policy, among others.
According to CHED Chairperson Patricia Licuanan, the program does not only enrich the development of Filipino higher education staff but also pays homage to the commitment of the Philippines and the U.S. to develop education in the country.
Photo Commission on Higher Education
“What many schools abroad have [is] longer experience in graduate programs, so it’s really to our advantage that we send people for graduate studies in the US particularly for research‑oriented degrees because schools [in the Philippines] that offer master’s and doctoral programs are not research‑oriented, so we hope to get that kind of shift from this program,” Ms. Licuanan told SparkUpduring the renewal of the memorandum of agreement for the program on April 28 at PAEF‑Educational Information and Advising Center in Makati City.
U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim was also present during the event to sign the renewed MOA.
In an interview with SparkUp, Mr. Kim assured that the selected Filipino scholars would be safe and secured as they finish their studies in the U.S. amid the concerns among immigrants over President Donald Trump’s staunchly protectionist policy.
“I know that there [have] been a lot of speculations about the environment in economic institutions in the U.S., but I can assure that we remain very open to welcoming students from overseas, including the Philippines,” he said. “There’s absolutely no effort to stop foreign students. American institutions are very careful to make sure [that we] provide an environment that is friendly to foreign students, including those from the Philippines, and I do not expect any change in that.”
Involuntary hunger area breakdown
FEWER Filipino families reported experiencing involuntary hunger in the last three months than before, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey — results that, aid workers said, should give the Duterte government more impetus to boost social services. Read the full story.
Money advice from an employee and an entrepreneur
The way you treat money reflects your upbringing. “Even if you know a thousand things about how to handle your money, if you don’t have the proper mindset, it’s really not going to happen,” says Clarissa Seriña‑de la Paz, an advertising professional and co‑author of the bestselling book, “I wish they taught money in high school.”
While many readers of that book were able to upgrade their lives, there were others who couldn’t absorb the advice because they still lacked one thing: confidence.
Last month, she and her co‑author Sharon Que, an entrepreneur, launched a second instalment which has a rather unorthodox title: “Money grows on trees,” authored by the two in the words of Katherine Tiuseco. Like their first, this book is two‑in‑one. On one side (with the purple cover) is Ms. dela Paz’s part, where she writes from the perspective of an employee, and on the reverse side (with the blue green cover) is Ms. Que’s part, where she speaks as an entrepreneur.
“A lot of Filipinos were not brought up believing that money actually grows on trees,” said Ms. Que. “With this book we want to challenge that mindset and we want to start a generation of Filipinos who will actually believe that if you have the abundance mindset, wealth will start to come in.”
In “Money grows on trees,” the two discuss insidious factors that affect one’s wealth, such as superstitions and the negative perceptions of Filipinos about money. Written from two perspectives, the book tackles financial matters as it would apply to different people, and in a tone that is.
“We usually have comfort zones about money and we want to break that,” Ms. Que said. She recounted how attending a goal‑setting seminar and playing a simple board game changed her mindset about earning and managing money.
Among the topics she discusses in the book is the “money bubble” (not to be confused with the financial bubble). According to her, this is an imaginary bubble formed in a person’s mind because of negative impressions regarding money. This bubble, she said, dictates us to spend only for what we think we’re worth.
The book thus urges people to expand their horizons, and teaches them the methods to do it.
Are they effective? Well, after making her bubble bigger, Ms. Que started to take trips to Europe without breaking the bank.
What are your costly, seemingly unattainable dreams? Tell us in the comments!
Performance outlook in select Asia-Pacific economies
PHILIPPINE economic growth in 2017 could sustain last year’s pace and then speed up to 7% by 2018, the United Nations’ (UN) regional development arm said yesterday as it raised its forecast on prospects the Duterte government will loosen its purse strings and as remittances continue to underpin consumption. Read the full story.
Analyst’ April inflation rate estimates
INFLATION likely inched upward in April to sustain an uptrend for a sixth straight month, analysts said in BusinessWorld poll, but still leaves some room for the central bank to keep rates steady. Read the full story.
