Bijoux Cebu: Asia’s destination for green jewelry

Cebuano exporters gather to give love back to Mother Nature

There is much more to the “Queen City of the South” than meets the eye. Sure, we all know how the mere mention of the island city immediately excites us to hoard all the sweet dried mangoes we can get and all the dried danggit, pusit, and dilis our wallets can afford. We dream of satiating our hungry mouths and pleasing our palates with its crispy lechon and sinugba. We revel at its immaculate beaches and resorts. But not many realize that part of Cebu’s charm is also seen in its progressive, sustainable, and “green” fashion accessories industry.

With an abundant source of organic and indigenous raw materials, Cebu fuels the costume jewelry industry in the Philippines. Costume jewelry refers to pieces made from inexpensive materials designed to accent and to complement trends and designs here and abroad. And it is home to the Cebu Fashion Accessories Manufacturers and Exporters Foundation, Inc. (Cebu FAME Foundation), the largest fashion accessories association in the country.

Established in 1987, the Cebu FAME Foundation with its initial 15 members is now composed of 100 members or the majority of the total number of fashion accessories exporters in the country. It provides its members with product development training sessions and information about the global market and how to penetrate it. It also promotes and markets the industry through participation in international trade fairs and selling missions.

As part of its efforts in uplifting the fashion accessories industry, the Cebu FAME Foundation organized last September 26 to 28 the second “Bijoux Cebu,” an international trade fair that showcased handmade and meticulously crafted fashion pieces—jewelry, bags, and footwear—to foreign and local buyers alike. Over 50 booths offering accessories that were both environmentally friendly and fashion-forward opened at the said trade show at the Marquee Ballroom, Mactan Shangri-La Resort and Spa.

Cebu FAME president Janet Chua said that they have been exhibiting fashion accessories at shows in Manila and abroad. But the ever-increasing cost of joining these shows means not all of their exporters can regularly participate in them.

She continued, “Fewer Philippine exhibitors suggest lesser market share for our country. By holding our own trade show here in Cebu, participation cost is much lower and we can present a wider variety of products from more exporters.”

An improvement from last year’s event, this year’s Bijoux (French term for jewelry) highlights and answers the ever-growing green global movement, an advocacy that drives people the world over to become friendlier to the environment and to nourish and sustain it. For manufacturers and exporters, this movement calls for them to use only natural and biodegradable raw materials for their merchandise.

“The global green movement is a very good fit for Philippine fashion accessories. We have been making green jewelry for over 30 years using natural resources in the country long before ‘eco-friendly’ became popular,” Chua said. “This is why we are positioning Bijoux Cebu as ‘Asia’s Destination for Green Jewelry.’ Everything about our products is green—from the components to the manufacturing process and even our product labels,” she added.

This year’s Bijoux Cebu also saw 2010 Spring-Summer Collections inspired by an eclectic mix of cultures from Asia, North America, South America, Europe, and Africa. Models strutted down the runway donning classic, avant-garde, and eco-chic pieces designed by PJ Aranador.

Incidentally, the Cebu FAME Foundation also opted to work on a sustainable environmental program as an appropriate response to the call of global corporate social responsibility. Billed “Go Green Philippines,” the program aims to reinvigorate the Philippine ecosystem and to support the Philippine fashion accessories industry. The project has a threefold objective—to “recycle natural components to ensure continuing natural resources; replenish what is used to use what has been replenished; and revitalize nature and breathe new life to the communities.”

“We are currently on the first phase of this long-term project, which is forest management. Our goal is to reforest 100 hectares of government land with tree plantations by 2015,” Chua explained. “Our forest management program is in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) VII; and they have awarded us an initial 10 hectares in Catmon and another 15 in San Remigio.”

Forest management includes planting of pangantuon (white wood), ipil (brownish wood), and sibucao (red wood) trees as well as propagation of bamboos and buri. The said trees are a preferred source of wood used heavily in the making of fashion accessories.

Cebu FAME’s efforts also support rural communities, particularly the Hiniusang Mag-Uuma Sa Catmondaan (HIMASACA), a small farmer’s group that works with the DENR for agro-forestry, soil, and water conservation activities. Cebu FAME is collaborating with them in the management of the foundation’s reforestation program. They are also given livelihood programs, skills training, and education that support the fashion jewelry industry.

The project’s next phase is the development of a coastal environmental program. This initiative seeks to protect coral reefs and to establish seashell sanctuaries.

“We give women and men jewelry to string at home. This serves as their sideline. One community focuses on wood while another specializes in coconut shells,” Chua stated. “We want international communities to understand that aside from our business interests, we are also concerned in preserving the environment,” Chua concluded.

[ Cebu Wiki ]