Rags to riches

International award for a young entrepreneur creating eco-ethical fashion and home accessories out of recycled scrap cloth and indigenous fabrics, and working with women living near one of the Philippines’ biggest rubbish dumps.

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Reese Fernandez, co-founder of Rags2Riches, receiving the Young Entrepreneur Award at the World Entrepreneurship Forum 2011. Photo: EMLYON Business School

Reese Fernandez-Ruiz, co-founder of Rags2Riches Inc. an eco-ethical business based in Manila, the Philippines, won the Young Entrepreneur Award at the World Entrepreneurship Forum 2011, held in Singapore, in November 2011. She was selected as an entrepreneur under the age of 35 whose entrepreneurial achievement and commitment to society makes her a role-model for entrepreneurship that creates wealth and social justice.

Rags2Riches, founded in 2007, creates eco-ethical fashion and home accessories out of recycled scrap cloth, organic materials, and indigenous fabrics, by working with women living near Payatas – one of the Philippines’ biggest rubbish dump sites.

As a design principle, at least 90% of each product is artisan hand-made, which in turn drives livelihood improvements for Rags2Riches partner communities.

Reese Fernandez-Ruiz was teaching children when she discovered that women at the dump site were scavenging the waste to find and recycle scrap pieces of fabric so that they could participate in handicraft production like rug and rag weaving, while taking care of their children at home. An informal cottage industry of rug-weavers had developed but over time, a series of middlemen moved in to take control of both the supply of scrap fabric and the women’s access to the market. This created an unfair value chain for the women who, at the end of the day, earned only pennies per finished product.

Rags2Riches Inc. was created to provide these women with fair access to the market and the formal economy, as well as with additional skills-based, financial and health training so that they can maximize their career potential and take steps towards long-term financial and personal well-being. It integrated a design solution by partnering with well-known local fashion designers, like Rajo Laurel, Amina Aranaz-Alunan, and Oliver Tolentino, turning these rags into foot rugs, a line of small purses and bags, and higher-end designer handbags.

Fernandez-Ruiz says that she expects Rags2Riches to grow from working with 450 women today to 5,000 in the next five years. “It’s not about lack of talent or determination,” she told Fast Company. “People need opportunities to be able to get out of poverty.”

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