Waste weavers drive textile recycling trend

Weaving textile waste is turning up to be a promising circularity and diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) model.

Jamie Naval, circularity manager of Cebu-based Anthill Fabric Gallery, a social and cultural enterprise championing Philippine preservation of weaves and sustainable livelihood, told attendees to the 2025 CSR Conference and Expo that her organization has prevented 24,000 kilos of textile waste from ending up in landfill by converting these into new fabrics.

“In the Philippines alone, we are swimming in textile waste every year, amounting to 427 Olympic-sized pools,” Naval said during her presentation of Anthill’s Zero Waste Weave program at the conference.

Textile waste recycling also helped reduced plastic pollution. According to Naval, 60 percent of textile waste are made from non-biodegradable polyesters and acrylics.

Naval said Anthill collaborated with Manila Hotel and Hong Kong Peninsula Hotel by transforming their towels and linens into fabrics, and those fabrics were transformed into accessories and clothes, just like what she was wearing at the conference. Another collaboration with Decathlon Philippines turns tents into pouch.

Under Zero Waste Weaves as post-industrial textile waste — including top-offs, your lassos, end of rolls, or dust-offs — and post-consumer textile waste such as decommissioned uniforms and hotel towels and linens, are collected and transported to Cebu.

“We sort them according to kind, size and color, and we cut them into strips, and then deliver them to the community where these are meticulously woven into fabrics,” she explained.

“Some of the products that we do with our fabrics are cover-ups like, tops, skirts and even hats,” she said.

We were able to increase our artisan’s average income by 30 percent, and provided 85 percent additional income from circular activities (cutting and sorting),” Naval added.

Anthill started with four partner weavers and the profitability of textile waste weaving has grown its partnerships.

“We now have 15 weavers, and we were able to increase their income by 275 percent. More than that, we were able to help them organize their community and have a savings account, and most of all, they have increased business skills and technical skills as well,” she said.

Meanwhile, Anthill has been tapped to be the Philippine partner of Maybank for the latter’s Women Eco-Weavers Program, which aims to establish additional eco-weaving hubs nationwide add 30 more local weavers.

Naval also revealed that Anthill will soon have its own dedicated circularity hubs in Luzon, which is Barrio Studio in Quezon City, as well as in Manila.

“Together, we are here to weave change and solutions with you,” she told CSR executives attending the conference.