First Things First….
“The local Anya bag”?
No, we’re not.
While we applaud and are fans of Ms. Anya Hindmarch and her brilliant work (imagine an ingenious bag designer getting the world’s attention not only on her fabulous bags and accessories but also about the horrible effects of the plastic bag), we are NOT the company that went ahead and “copied” her.
Not to mention, we, who love fashion — including one who actually works in the industry — know for a fact that purchasing and supporting fakes (which means supporting child labor…a definite no- no!) IS a mortal sin.
The concept of our first slogan “I Am Not Plastic” was birthed in June 2006. The phrase was a stab at plastic shopping bags in general, as well as the idea that we need to value authenticity in all areas of our life – For anyone living in Manila, the term “plastic” is also used to connote hypocrisy, duplicity, pretense.
Due to the nature of the fashion industry in Manila, Edgy Ecology, Inc (EEI) has had to contend with business start-up issues and go the legal route before finally officially launching our first product. It would certainly be a strange business philosophy to be pushing for sincere efforts to help the environment while not being a “real” company. In a nutshell, in the midst of our preparation, Anya’s reusable bag came out ahead of ours.
Our initial reaction was dismay, because…
- we had no idea Anya would come out with a slogan close to ours
- we certainly would be tagged as “fakes” and “copycats” and everything else in between.
Self-fulfilling prophecy it was. We knew what we were going to get into. And true enough, we have had our share of critics. Point well taken guys! All in jolly good fun. We ladies at EEI can take a few jabs here and there…..so a few side comments and smirks at our efforts were taken in stride. Mud-slinging on our end shall be reserved for playtime with tots and toddlers. *wink*
Despite knowing some of these reactions were bound to come, why did we STILL go ahead and do it?
Because we believe in our concept, our product, and our efforts. We believe that it is time for the Filipino consumer to be given the opportunity to be responsible. We come from a standpoint of believing that the Filipino is aware of what is going on in the world, and has compassion enough to do something about issues within their reach. Including, and most especially, saving the environment. We know the Filipino is anti-apathy and 3-dimensional, with valid opinions about important issues, and will go ahead and DO something about them.
So, fakes we have been called by some, but fakes we know we are not. We have had options to outsource our material and designs from other countries (anybody take notice how China is totally beating us in the textile race? And yes, they have organic cotton. So does India.) but we have chosen to remain true to our roots. Everything about us is local, and we will continue to support local. Soon, we will introduce our women’s group to you – ladies who help put together our bag (and other products in the future); by supporting us, you in turn support them.
We will continue to push eco-responsibility in our consumer habits. It is not about perfection. We believe in doable, practical measures that start out small and eventually grow into a lifestyle.
That being said, we would love to hear from you. Everything you see on this website is a work in progress, as we at EEI continue to learn and make mistakes and grow from them. We will continue to support ALL efforts being made to help the Philippines become greener again.
At the end of the day, it’s much harder to be plastic isn’t it?
