Regie Pablo's Pet project: recycle, reuse, revolve

Manila, Philippines - The seventh Filipino mountaineer to reach the summit of the world’s highest peak is blazing another trail these days. This time though, Regie Pablo is just on his way up. His company, Revolve, is the country’s first and only manufacturer of sports apparel made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. How he stumbled onto this business concept was a byproduct of his twin passions  the great outdoors and community work.

Long before he became a mountaineer, Pablo says he has always been active in community work. He has done extensive volunteer work for several indigenous tribes like Mangyan, Dumagat, Kalinga, Kalanguya and Aetas. His most recent involvement was development work at the Iram Resettlement Center in New Cabalan, Olongapo City, whose Aeta community members were making a living sewing old clothes thrown away at the dumpsites of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and selling them as used clothes.

So when he came across a US-made backpack made from recycled PET bottles, he was instantly drawn to the concept and thought that he can bring it to the Philippines and make a difference.

“I was attracted to the idea but also more on the good practices that come with the making of products made from recycled materials,” he says. Fresh from his Mt. Everest feat and then newly married, Pablo was also at a crossroads and looking for a fresh start.

The company he eventually founded now makes corporate merchandise, events souvenir items and giveaways, and other products that promote recycling, use of renewable energy and fair trade practices. These include bags and apparel that are hip, functional and created with a high value on quality. The fabric made from PET bottles was imported from China but the products are sewn in the Philippines by local sewers.

The funny thing, he says, is the fabric comes from China but actually it’s partly made from Philippine garbage. “Forty percent of the PET bottles used by the China manufacturers in making the fabrics come from the Philippines,” he says.

PET bottles, he explains, are the containers used in packaging food products, usually mineral water, soda or fruit juices. Not all PET bottles are recyclable but the ones used as containers for mineral water, or PET bottle # 1, are recyclable.

“Junk shops collect them, remove the cap, and it undergoes a process to produce PET flakes, which are them exported to China, where it undergoes another chemical process that eventually turns them into threads that are woven into fabrics,” Pablo explains.

Importers like Revolve can specify the kind of fabric they need such as fabrics for shirts, caps, jackets, bags. When recycled, five PET bottles can produce fabric for a shirt, seven bottles can make a jacket, four can make a sleeveless singlet, and three can make a small bag.

Unless otherwise specified by the client, Revolve also uses recycled paper for its calling cards and packaging. Pablo says that he considers himself more of a social entrepreneur than a businessman. He admits that he can probably save on cost if he manufactures the products also in China. “But my heart tells me not to do it because it would feel as if I am not contributing to the local economy,” he says. “I should be giving opportunities to people.”

Revolve currently subcontracts the sewing process to about 10 local sewers based in Cubao who were mostly displaced when the local garment’s industry declined. “I will not take credit for everything because they also do work for other people, other companies.”

Pablo admits that while business is good and he never had to advertise his products as he has a steady stream of clients mainly from word of mouth, it is not yet that stable for the company to have its own sewers.

“Maybe the next step is for us to make our own product line and branding,” he says.

An industrial engineer by training, Pablo, however, sees challenges in this next bold venture such as cash flow, inventory and marketing. However, right now, the company is really doing well.

One of its top clients is Globe Telecom. Revolve has been producing its Run4Home shirts for two years now, as well as its cycling jerseys for the Cordillera Challenge, an event for mountain bikers to raise money to buy seedlings.

Revolve has also produced corporate giveaways for the running team of Accenture, as well as corporate bags and shirts for Coca-Cola, and caps for the centennial celebration of De La Salle University.

“So there is still advocacy in it,” he says, adding that the advantage of Revolve products is that clients can quantify what has been contributed to the environment by their corporate merchandize so it adds another layer of benefit to the corporate social responsibility project.

Revolve says in its website that recycling one ton of plastic bottles saves approximately 3.8 barrels of oil, recycling one pound of PET plastic bottles saves approximately 12,000 BTUs (British thermal unit) of heat energy, and recycling one ton of plastic saves 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space.

Two years into the business, Pablo says that Revolve is the only company so far that produces corporate merchandize from recycled PET bottles as the idea has yet to take root in the Philippines. However, in other countries, it is already a mainstream business model. In fact, he says, 12 teams that competed in the most recent FIFA World Cup wore jerseys made from recycled PET, and the giveaways during the Vancouver Olympics were also made from recycled PET.

Pablo says that his ultimate dream is to be able to bring the technology for converting PET flakes into fabrics to the Philippines. However, it would require huge capitalization that may as well be reserved for the future when the local market demand for PET fabric is ready. When that time comes, the merchandize will also be much cheaper and the manufacturing process much faster.

And that will be a sure win for everyone.