HABI teamed up with Bayo for their new campaign to launch a collection that promotes the textile industry while showcasing a modern take on women's clothing crafted by Filipino weavers—and it's gorgeous!

Have you ever wondered what Filipinas would look like if we still wore textile and fabric every day? Just imagine donning clothes made of piña that were carefully woven by Filipino artisans. See the beauty by looking through HABI and Bayo's new collection, which marks the beginning of a fruitful campaign called HABI Connects.

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Above The HABI Connects digital poster showing a beautiful woven fabric.
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The HABI Connects campaign was launched by HABI, The Philippine Textile Council. The council has been leading the way since 2009 towards the preservation, promotion, and sustainability of our local textile industry. Over time, they were able to connect Filipino weavers with consumers through the annual Likhang HABI Market Fair.

HABI President Adelaida Lim shared, "HABI, The Philippine Textile Council has conducted the annual Likhang HABI Market Fair for the last 10 years. In its 11th year, the pandemic happened. It was impossible to hold the usual event which involved many vendors and even more customers. Rather than disappoint the weavers [and] vendors who needed to earn, HABI opted to go online. We also wanted to keep our regular customers and supporters happy by giving them the opportunity to shop. There was so much we had to learn from dealing with banks and payment engines to delivery systems and warehousing to photography and writing. But HABI learned. HABI levelled up".

Read more: Vestido Is Your One-Stop Shop For Sustainable Fashion And Clothing

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Above HABI President Laida Lim.

Sometime before the pandemic disrupted the Philippine weaving industry, Filipino weavers had already bore the brunt of supply chain issues, lack of credit and funding facilities, and the price and supply of cotton. And now is the right time to show our support for the weaving industry in the Philippines.

Fortunately, HABI collaborated with Bayo, a homegrown Filipino fashion brand that shares the same vision. Together, they launched a collection made of natural fibre textiles in cotton, abaca, piña from La Herminia in Aklan, Ambension weavers in Bulacan, and Argao weavers in Cebu. To prevent clothing scraps from ending up in landfills, the collection also includes weaves of polyester with cotton threads and production offcuts. All this helped them produce pieces that a modern Filipina would proudly wear.

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Now HABI is calling on more entrepreneurs, MSMEs, and big local and international businesses to help support the Philippine weaving industry and its many skilful weavers from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Lim expressed her enthusiasm for their campaign, “Our collaboration with Bayo is just the beginning. With the HABI Connects campaign, we hope that more entrepreneurs and businesses, not just in fashion and lifestyle but also in other industries, will follow suit and support our local weaving communities”.

Read more: Weaving the Threads of Filipino Heritage