Fashion accessory makers create ‘green’ products

Sun.Star Cebu <> Friday, October 03, 2008

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Cebu

DEMAND for “green” products is up—consumers are looking for environment-friendly cars and in the real estate industry, “green” buildings are gaining popularity in the country.

Recently, green thinking landed on the local fashion stage, prompting the fashion accessories sector to respond to the clamor for eco-fashion items, primarily through the “Go Green” hangtag or label.

This is no ordinary tag. Apart from it being a promotional tool, the payment for these labels, which cost $0.05 each, will go back to the “Go Green Philippines” program.

The tag, though, is only a small part of the program, which is the Fashion Accessories Manufacturers and Exporters (Fame) Foundation’s contribution to efforts led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to protect the country’s natural resources and sustain the Philippine fashion accessories industry.

The two agencies noted that in Cebu, where most of the raw materials used in the industry are sourced, has 142,000 hectares of land classified as timberland but only five percent of these or 7,100 hectares are covered with vegetation. The DENR is targeting to reforest 18 percent or 25,560 hectares by 2015, with the Cebu Fame Foundation taking responsibility for 100 hectares to be planted with wild mamalis (pangantoan) trees—a preferred source of white wood by the fashion accessories industry—through the Go Green Philippines.

Replenish

Go Green Philippines, launched in October last year during the Manila Fame International Show, aims to replenish natural resources used in production processes.

Under the program, the group will plant bamboo, pangantoan, ipil and sibucao trees; conduct coastal resource management by establishing coral reef protection and seashell sanctuaries; and provide livelihood projects to rural communities that support the fashion jewelry sector.

Through Go Green, a buyer who makes a donation of $2,500 for the planting of 2,500 trees on a one-hectare lot gets naming rights and the right to use the Go Green Philippines trademark in his marketing efforts. The license to use the trademark, however, is renewable every year with an annual donation of $2,500.

The minimum requirement to obtain a Green certificate is $50, which is equivalent to 100 trees at an estimated planting cost of $0.50 per tree.

Fame Foundation is tasked to give an update every six months on the status of the Go Green Philippines program.

“It positions Cebu and the country as Asia’s prime destination for green jewelry,” added Fame officials.

Filed under: Environment, Go Green Philippines

Rising cost of construction hurts group’s housing projects in Cebu

Sun.Star Cebu <> Friday, October 03, 2008

BY NANCY R. CUDIS, Sun.Star Staff Cebu

HURT by the increasing cost of construction materials, a faith-based non-government organization is planning to employ its available resources and even target beneficiaries in the completion of future low-cost housing projects.

The Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation-Integrated Development Center (JPIC-IDC) has started implementing part of this scheme in a two-hectare low-cost housing project in Barangay Bangkal, Lapu-Lapu City that will benefit 256 urban families.

With beneficiaries giving 300 hours of free service to help build the units, 100 houses and the worship center inside the site called Janssenville are already in place.

“For the project, we hired a contractor (with whom we asked for a discount) because the project is an effort to provide homes for economically challenged families. Starting January, if we can save more by using our resources, seeking help from partners and increasing labor contribution, then we (would be able to) construct houses on our own,” said JPIC-IDC executive director Fr. Anthony Salas.

The JPIC-IDC is mainly dependent on grants to sustain its projects. In 2007, it received P51.3 million worth of cash donation.

In the past two years, 65 percent of its project expenditures went to construction and housing. It allotted P16.4 million out of its P35.1 million total expenditures for housing projects in 2006 and P12.8 million from its P40.6 million total expenditures in 2007.

Lot acquisition

Salas said housing and construction eat up most of the group’s budget because of the high cost of lot acquisition.

JPIC-IDC purchased the Janssenville lot for P16 million or at P800 per square meter. It spent P8 million on subsidized site development of the property.

Salas said that what the beneficiaries will be paying is only the housing unit that cost P149,000 through a very low amortization rate (around P700 per month for 25 years with an annual interest of one percent).

Presently, JPIC-IDC is also in the process of acquiring lots in Compostela and in Barangay Umapad, Mandaue City to house scavenger families. The first phase of the expansion of its low-cost housing village in Cordova, Cebu is also underway.

The organization also has other low-cost housing projects in Inayawan (Cebu City), Talisay City and Tingub (Mandaue City), which are partly funded by private donors.

JPIC-IDC and University of San Carlos-Community Extension Services (USC-CES) launched their partnership last Tuesday, giving the school a focused direction for its outreach programs.

Filed under: Business, JPIC-IDC executive director Fr. Anthony Salas, Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation-Integrated Development, University of San Carlos-Community Extension Services