Community-led fashion show takes center stage in Taytay to champion circular fashion and celebrate local sewers for Green Action Week 2026

4 October 2026, Taytay, Rizal. Building on the momentum of the Sinulid ng Pangarap exhibit that opened last October 2 at the New Taytay Public Market Recreation Center, the EcoWaste Coalition, together with the Municipality of Taytay and the New Taytay Public Market, hosted the event’s highly anticipated centerpiece yesterday—the Silong Fashion Walkway.

Serving as the culminating activity and highlight of Green Action Week 2026, last night's sustainable runway show brought together local sewers, youth volunteers, garment workers, designers, and community members to showcase upcycled, redesigned, and repurposed fashion.

While Taytay has long flourished as a central hub for affordable garments, the industry's growth comes with severe environmental costs, ranging from rising fabric waste to microplastic pollution. By spotlighting local sewers, small workshop owners, and discarded materials, the Silong Fashion Walkway connected the history of Taytay’s garment sector with urgent innovative solutions like repair, reuse, redesign, and upcycling.

The term "Silong" honors the physical space under traditional Filipino homes (bahay-kubo or bahay na bato) where Taytay’s garment industry took root between the 1950s and 1970s. During this era, wives of local carpenters set up sewing machines under their homes to build family-run tailoring setups, laying the foundation for what would eventually become the garment capital of the Philippines.

The fashion runway showcased upcycled and repurposed collections featuring creative work from local eco-fashion brands and designers, including Upcycled PH, Yahab Style, Nene a Clothique, Damit na May Kwento, and Rikishee.

Emphasizing the vital connection between environmental advocacy and the dignity of local labor, Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition, stated:

"Behind every garment we wear is a human story of dedicated sewers, hardworking families, and the unseen environmental footprint of our clothing choices. Silong is our call to bring these stories into the light, transforming textile scraps into symbols of hope and sustainability. Threads serve as our connection: from our rich history to our present practices, and from discarded waste into new opportunities for our environment and community."

Highlighting the municipality's commitment to supporting sustainable trade and local workers, Hon. Allan De Leon, Mayor of the Municipality of Taytay, noted:

"Taytay takes immense pride in its identity as a town built by the skill and resilience of our local tailors and garment communities. Partnering with civil society for Green Action Week allows us to honor our heritage while embracing circular solutions that protect our local environment, reduce waste, and create greener economic opportunities for our people."

To achieve systemic impact across the local textile sector, the multi-day Sinulid ng Pangarap initiative, running from October 1 to 4, combines an immersive interactive exhibit featuring locally made fabrics, textile art, waste flow displays, and live upcycling demonstrations with community dialogues that give garment workers, youth groups, and waste handlers a platform to co-create circular practices. Furthermore, the initiative strengthens policy synergy between the Local Government Unit of Taytay, civil society, schools, and private garment stakeholders to drive long-term circular textile policies and sustainable production.

Following the runway presentation, the interactive exhibition will remain open to the public until today, October 4, 2026.