"Green Fashion" Competition

CEBU, Philippines - Tomorow, Metro Manila's top young creative talents battle it out and "paint the town green" at the Aboitiz Green Fashion Revolution. It's going to be an exciting mix of  stunning and sustainable fashion designs.

The competition has been an annual favorite within Cebu's college fashion circuit for the past four years. Now, for the first time, it is being staged in Manila. The theme this year is - "ECOUTURE: Greener Design for a Better World."

Hitting the grand runway at the SMX Convention Center Aura are the freshest designs from three schools: Asia Pacific College, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, and University of the Philippines-Diliman. Some of the country's top fashion icons sit as judges, such as designers Ma. Rosanna Ocampo and Ito Curata, Philippine Tatler's Mia Borromeo and People Asia's Paolo de la Cruz, Celia Elumba of the Philippine Textile Research Institute, and Aboitiz Equity Ventures' Melissa Aboitiz-Elizalde.

Aboitiz Foundation Chairman Erramon I. Aboitiz says that Green Fashion Revolution provides a platform for the youth to celebrate their creative talent while espousing a timely environmental mindset.

"[It] is an initiative under our 'Wealth on Waste Program' that promotes creative recycling of waste materials...," according to Aboitiz. "This is part of how we in the Aboitiz Group live out our sustainability mindset - always making the right long-term decisions that balance the interests of people, planet, and profit."

For their various collections, the participating designers in tomorrow's competition have repurposed an estimated 200 kilograms of waste material from various Aboitiz business units. Various awards await tomorrow's winners: Best Clothing Design, Best Accessories Design, Best Bag Design, and Best Footwear Design. On top of the grand prize, winners get to implement a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project for their chosen beneficiary.

Aboitiz Green Fashion Revolution was the brainchild of a group of Aboitiz scholars during the Aboitiz Scholars' CSR Summit in December 2011 and was first staged in 2012 through the auspices of the Aboitiz Foundation. Since then, it has been challenging students to create clothing, footwear, and accessories from recycled materials and highlight the importance of the 3Rs - Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.  (FREEMAN)