The 2020 Wear Your Heritage Report: Your Impact in the Philippines & The Global Diaspora

The 2020 Wear Your Heritage Report: Your Impact in the Philippines & The Global Diaspora

As Filipinos, Pinays, and Filipinx within the global BIPOC community, our success is our activism

What do we mean by that? Allow us to explain.

There’s no doubt 2020 was a rough year for all of us, particularly our Black and Indigenous siblings. In the midst of a global pandemic, violent systemic racism, and anti-poor policies, it’s more clear than ever that our existing institutions, leaders, and systems don’t exist to serve us.

Instead, our leaders are more concerned with keeping those in power on top, while the rest of us are kept struggling to survive, rather than thrive.

None of this is new to 2020. The pandemic simply put a magnifying glass to the fault lines that already existed.

So when we build wealth for Black and Brown communities, this is an act of defiance. When we build wealth, we take back power and redistribute it to our people.

That’s why your support for Cambio & Co. in 2020 (and over the last 5 years) has been so important. Because as Cambio grows, we intentionally grow our impact, too. 

We aim to layer positive impact into everything we do - whether through breaking cycles of poverty by creating dignified livelihood for artisans and their families, or challenging colonial mentalities that keep us oppressed and small. 

Creating livelihood and community have always been core to our mission. But 2020 steeled us and made us stronger. 

So whether you purchased from us or not, attended one of our virtual gatherings, or just liked, commented and/or shared one of our posts - thank you. Your support has meant the world. 

Today, it’s clear the fight continues. But here’s a glance at our collective impact in 2020 and the wins we achieved together.

These numbers represent the stories of Filipinos globally: artisans and social entrepreneurs in the Philippines who've persevered through uncertainty, and advocates who've found comfort and connection in a long season of isolation.

And as you read through these numbers - remember that data is one thing. 

What’s more important is the story that has unfolded behind-the-scenes in 2020: a story of resilience, courage, grit, activism. And, most importantly, hope. 

More power to you and thank you for being here, 

Cambio & Co. 

The Cambio Community By The Numbers

This means 20,000 Cambio advocates in 15 countries around the world who are empowered to #WearYourHeritage and celebrate our power as a global community.

We’re proud to centre diverse Filipin* stories and create bridges between the homeland and the diaspora. 

Your Impact In The Philippines 

We work only with a handful of community partners in the Philippines. Each of them have been hand selected based on their social commitment, ethical practices, sourcing standards, and product design and quality.

For the purposes of this report, we dove deep into the impact stories of four of our community partners: Rags2Riches, En Route Handcrafted Accessories AMAMI, and Island Girl.

For the full list of our community partners, see who we work with.

That’s the equivalent of almost 3,000,000 PHP (Philippine Pesos)!

Social impact is built directly into Cambio & Co.’s business model. The more our business revenues grow, the more we increase orders and contribute to our community partners’ financial sustainability.

In a year like 2020, survival is a blessing. As you can imagine, it was a super challenging year for our partners and artisan communities. 

Here’s how your purchases helped our partners through COVID-19:

Visualizing Your Impact Across The Philippines

Here are the regions where our community partners operate, and where your purchases contributed livelihood!

Preserving Traditional Filipino Craftsmanship 

Every piece for purchase on the Cambio & Co. website is designed and handcrafted in the Philippines.

As seen in the map above, our partners work directly with artisans across the Philippine Islands.

Some are masters of age-old techniques inherited from generations past. Others are innovating new crafts from materials overwhelming local industries - such as overstock fabric on its way to landfill.

What we love most is the beauty that comes from bridging both tradition and modernity together.

BEYOND LIVELIHOOD: ADDITIONAL IMPACT 

COVID-19 attacked the Philippines’ already weak infrastructure, causing massive food insecurity for millions of people across the Philippine islands. 

On top of that, the Philippines was also hit with multiple typhoons, including Super Typhoon Goni, which displaced millions of people and created massive destruction. 

In addition to sustaining livelihood for our artisan partners and communities through our everyday work, we also raised funds for COVID-19 and typhoon relief efforts. 

This is the equivalent of over 130,000 PHP for relief efforts in the Philippines.

We chose to support Project PEARLS for COVID-19 relief. We also worked with Youth Advocates For Climate Action Philippines (YACAP) to provide immediate relief for typhoon survivors, as well as support YACAP’s ongoing climate advocacy programs.

That’s almost 52,000 PHP raised for Ifugao-led education programs!

Cultural heritage preservation and Indigenous allyship are core to our beliefs and company values. We partnered with Ifugao Nation (who we previously worked with in 2018) to raise funds for their cultural education centre that teaches Ifugao youth about Indigenous culture and heritage.

Thank you for choosing to #WearYourHeritage!

Choosing to Wear Your Heritage is an act of defiance, courage, and love. 

We’re honored to have you as part of our global community and movement to unite the diaspora and homeland. Thank you for choosing to be loud, brown, and proud!

For more stories from our community, check out our blog post about 5 Filipinas who reconnected with their roots through Filipino jewelry

Want to be part of the #WearYourHeritage movement? Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates, offers, and stories from the Filipin* diaspora and the homeland.


Gelaine Santiago

Gelaine Santiago

Gelaine is a social entrepreneur, an online storyteller, and a passionate advocate for diversity and ethics in business. She’s the co-founder of Cambio & Co., an e-commerce fashion company working with Filipino artisans to celebrate Filipino craftsmanship, culture, and heritage. Gelaine is also one of the founders of Sinta & Co., the world’s first conscious Filipino wedding boutique. She was named one of RBC’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrants of 2019. Find her on Instagram @gelainesantiago and www.gelainesantiago.co


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