Student campaign

We all know that the fashion world has joined the crusade to save Mother Nature, with several brands sporting eco-friendly wares. Now even the youth has taken up the cause, some of them not even out of college. Julianne Syjuco, Elouise Rendon and Jiggy Sulit, three environmentally-conscious communications students from Ateneo, have made “save nature” their battle cry.

For their thesis, they teamed up with Puey Quiñones, a designer famous for his creative use of native materials, to come up with Maya, an eco-friendly line geared towards the youth. “No one has really made an eco-friendly clothing line here in the Philippines yet and if anyone has made it, no one has targeted the youth. We have actually the most power right now in the country and it’s all a matter of utilizing that power in a more positive way,” Elouise says.

Green minds

“Fortunately for us Puey Quiñones is a friend of Jules’ mom and, since he has a heart for charity, we thought that he might be interested in creating an advocacy,” Elouise explains. “We also know that the world is at its tipping point. It’s really sick right now so we wanted to make an advocacy to create awareness among the youth because they’re so apathetic. We just want them to change their lifestyle little by little. This is one way for the youth to be aware.”

Puey is very happy to be working with like-minded individuals. “We have the same vision. I was planning to promote environmentally- friendly clothes because I want to support that campaign,” Puey says. “It’s also the same vision I have for my students in Bilibid where we recycle plastic bottles and plastic bags.”

Maya, which is Hindu for “one with nature,” was launched in Bobon, Puey Quiñones’ store in Markati Palazzo, a space in The Podium that carries local designers. The items, mainly pins and T-shirts with slogans like “I cut class, not trees,” as well as Puey’s signature paint-splattered designs were made by Puey’s students in Bilibid Prison, where the designer teaches classes in fashion and painting. Even the event’s giveaways — decorations made out of softdrink bottles — were made by his students. “The people there were the most courteous people we’ve ever met. They’re extremely helpful and they’re very talented,” Eloise says.

Thinking long-term

Part of Maya’s profits will benefit The Firefly Brigade, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to promote the bicycle as an environmentally-friendly (not to mention exercise-inducing) mode of transportation. “My old theology professor was part of the Firefly Brigade and I remember him saying ‘I go to school on a bike and all of you students go to school in your cars and pollute the environment,’” Elouise shares.

Julianne adds, “We wanted to increase people’s awareness about change and lifestyle, and The Firefly Brigade also has the same goal.”

To the students, Maya is more than just a way to pass their course. They’re looking at it as a long-term business. “Since this was for our thesis, we had to make sure that it would fit into one semester but, at the same time, ensure its longevity afterwards. The main goal of the thesis is not to have people remember us for a month, but to have people remember us for a long time,” Julianne explains.

As part of their thesis, the students surveyed other students from different schools on how much they spent on their wardrobe and took this into consideration when pricing their items. A T-shirt is about P800 to P1,500, while a short cocktail dress is about P4,500. Not bad for a Puey Quiñones creation.

Because of their working relationship, Puey has become a mentor to the students. “I tell them not to panic,” Puey laughs. “It’s their first event. I tell them to stay focused because if you keep panicking, you won’t achieve your goal.”

If Maya gets even just one person to rethink the way he or she treats Mother Earth, it will have already succeeded.