Striving Towards Sustainability
What is Sustainability?
If it has not already been made clear, Creative Definitions aims to succeed in being a sustainable company for the long haul. The word "sustainability", however, gets thrown around often enough for most people to conclude that it simply means using materials for products that have less of a negative impact on the environment. Though the idea is included in achieving sustainability, it is not the entire picture. For the Creative Definitions owners, sustainability means the adoption of practices which may require time and patience that will support long-term economic growth without nullifying environmental and cultural aspects of the partner communities. The company in the past 3 years have taken steps to achieve this “sustainability commitment” through ethical marketing, responsible product development and advocating the use of natural materials.
What Steps Have We Taken Towards Sustainability?
Our company, in collaboration with HABI The Philippine Textile Council, has done its part in reviving and promoting the cotton industry in the Philippines. Our cotton is mainly sourced from the farmers in Panay and Negros Oriental. They are then sent to the Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST) for spinning into yarns.
Since the time when our partnership with the Negros 9 weaving community started in 2017, we have been using cotton in all our handwoven fabrics. It was part of our sustainability strategy to shift into using natural, more environmentally friendly raw material, instead of fossil-based polyester. In the next few years, we will be introducing fabrics made from yarns blended with cotton, pineapple, abaca and other local fibers.
With the assistance of the Philippine Textile Research Institute - Department of Science and Technology, our partner weavers are provided with opportunities for development and training in their craft. We make sure to practice fair trade by paying them a good amount for the fabrics they sell. Once those fabrics are sent to us, we work together with people of other backgrounds and skills to produce a variety of items made with some of the products of the weavers. They are then sold by our company in trade fairs. With this, the weavers are given recognition and have access to the market. Hopefully, the aim of reaching the international market gets fulfilled as well.
How Can You Help?
When all is said and done, the path towards sustainability cannot be taken if the consumers do not decide to participate. Even if brands strive for more sustainable options, it is the consumer's job to pick which company to support through what they purchase. We thank all our customers for considering and buying our products, and we hope more people practice responsibility when choosing what to buy and where to buy from next.