Malaya Soft Jacket, Mahogany

During the pandemic, nearly all of the indigenous communities we work with (and more) needed all the help they could get as The Philippines went into lockdown & quarantine. For months, the weavers stayed home with their back strap looms & hand looms, dyeing yarns & weaving away beautiful patterns into textiles (#workingfromhome had never seen such beauty). We amassed a small collection of indigenous fabrics (of course) during the quarantine, & over the summer developed our "Malaya" soft jacket! Malaya means "free", "independent", and "unimpeded" in Tagalog, as our jacket is *free* of of pellon or any type of fusing (because, synthetics & microplastics).
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​The first pieces of our Malaya soft jackets were created with indigenous Bagobo inabal textile, which is extra-special, because this type of weaving historically uses abaca fibers (from an indigenous banana plant species also known as "Manila hemp"), & tie-dyed in the ikat process using natural materials such as "sikarig" (sappan wood) & "k’narum" (noni). Instead of being crisp in its handfeel as abaca usually is, ancient ikat patterns are woven with Philippine cotton fibers, giving the craft another dimension, while keeping its originality & supporting indigenous artisans & local farmers. 

Each Malaya soft jacket is one-of-a-kind & in limited sizes, since each 4 yards is narrow in length (15"-18"!), so only one fabric design per jacket can be used. In addition, we reclaimed the buttons from a factory that was going to just throw them away as they went out of business, so the trims were saved from the landfill.

- Long-sleeve jacket with front button closure

- 100% Philippine cotton

- Fabric: Handwoven by indigenous Bagobo artisans in the Philippines using hand-dyed yarns

- Garment: Made in the USA

- Professional wet clean (more eco-friendly), or dry-clean. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), wet cleaning is the safest professional method of garment cleaning. It does not use hazardous chemicals, it does not generate hazardous waste, nor does the process create air pollution and it reduces the potential for water and soil contamination. The specialized detergents and conditioner used in the wet clean process are milder than home laundry products. All of the products are disposed of down the drain and easily handled by the local waste water treatment facility.