Waste to Wear, Waste to Build aims to reduce textile waste while creating green skills, livelihoods, and climate resilience for youth in Alangalang, Leyte. The project will transform an unfinished structure into a Sustainability and Cultural Hub for training, prototyping, and production. Its innovation is turning textile waste into upcycled fashion and non-load-bearing materials such as tiles and cladding. By combining circular production, youth empowerment, materials innovation, and cultural engagement, the project creates a scalable model for climate-affected communities.
What made you want to be engaged in the fight against climate change?
Our motivation to fight climate change comes from witnessing its lasting impact on communities in Eastern Visayas, particularly Leyte. More than a decade after Typhoon Haiyan, many communities continue to face disrupted livelihoods, damaged infrastructure, and limited economic opportunities. Young people also have limited access to green skills and pathways into the circular economy. We believe climate action should address both environmental and social challenges. This inspired us to transform textile waste into useful products while equipping youth with practical skills and livelihood opportunities. Through Waste to Wear, Waste to Build, we aim to turn waste and climate vulnerability into opportunities for innovation, empowerment, sustainable livelihoods, and community resilience.
What motivates/inspires you?
We are motivated by the resilience and potential of communities in Eastern Visayas, particularly Leyte, which continue to face climate-related challenges, disrupted livelihoods, and limited economic opportunities. We are inspired by the belief that young people, women, local creatives, and community members can become active drivers of climate action when given the right skills, resources, and opportunities. At the same time, the growing textile waste problem shows the urgent need to rethink how discarded materials are valued and used. These challenges inspire Waste to Wear, Waste to Build, a solution that transforms textile waste into useful products while creating green skills, livelihood pathways, innovation, and stronger community resilience.
What advice do you have for the youth that want to be involved with climate action?
Start where you are and focus on solutions that address your community’s needs. Climate action can begin with reducing waste, learning green skills, creating sustainable products, and inspiring others. In climate-vulnerable communities like Leyte, youth can turn challenges into opportunities. Learn about the circular economy, connect with communities, businesses, artists, and organizations, and experiment with new ideas. Most importantly, collaborate. By combining creativity, skills, and local knowledge, young people can create green livelihoods, reduce waste, strengthen communities, and build a more sustainable and resilient future.
Which type of organisation would be most valuable for you to connect with during the event and why?
Connecting with private-sector organizations and universities/research centers would be most valuable to our project. Private-sector partners can provide textile waste, technical expertise, market access, and opportunities to scale our circular products. Universities and research centers can help test and improve textile-based materials such as tiles and cladding, ensuring their quality, safety, and sustainability. These partnerships can also strengthen our youth training, product development, and enterprise model. We also hope to connect with government institutions that can support community-based climate action and replication. These collaborations can help turn our pilot into a sustainable and scalable circular economy solution.
Are there any topics you would especially like to speak about?
Yes. We would especially like to speak about our project, “Waste to Wear, Waste to Build,” and how it promotes youth-led climate action through the creative reuse of waste materials and sustainable community practices.