We know it's a terrifying time right now, and it's easy to feel helpless with the uncertainty and fear surrounding this public health crisis. But in R2R and Things That Matter, one thing that is deeply embedded in our way of life is doing something, no matter how tiny that contribution is. We believe in the power of small steps.
Our R2R advocates definitely know how to spark some joy with their outfits! Here’s a curation of ideas featuring some of your favorite R2R pieces to inspire your upcoming outfits.
We in R2R care about governance. As a brand that is committed to creating positive impact in communities, we don't believe in "staying out of politics". So here we are, using our platform to make a difference no matter how small. Because any effort to make your life more joyful is worth it.
Learn how you can be part of Plastic Free July, a global movement of identifying and implementing solutions to plastic pollution, whether you commit to living zero-waste, or simply beginning your journey to using less single-use items, and adopting a less-waste lifestyle.
From white beaches to cityscapes to mountains and forests, pick your horizon and take it all in with this list, courtesy of the R2R team! These local hotspots dotted around the country can give you somewhere to look forward to visiting without having to go too far. Strap on your hiking boots, pack your tent and your swimsuit, or take along your bike on your trip to one of these stunning destinations.
At R2R, we like finding ways to reuse these scraps — here, we’ve compiled five fun and easy DIY projects to try out using leftover materials lying around your home.
It’s time to unleash that artistic side with this guide of easy Father's Day crafts you can do right in the comfort of your own home, with ready materials found around the house, to help make your dad feel extra special.
Part of the village that it takes to create R2R pieces are fathers who help make the company’s culture a joy to be part of, and who are glad to have found meaningful work to provide for their families. In celebration of Father’s Day, we sit with three R2R dads to talk about work, fatherhood, and some of the other things that matter to them.
Launching our online store in North America was, to be blunt, one of our survival strategies in the time of COVID-19. R2R's ultimate mission is to open opportunities––and keep them open!––for Filipino artisans. We have to live a long life because livelihood needs to be reliable to truly make a difference.
"Ever since I finished fashion school, I've always wanted to produce clothes that are in parallel with the fashion sustainability movement and to create designs that have a function and a well-thought plan. I wanted to become a designer with purpose, and because of that, I pursued working for R2R."
"During this difficult and uncertain period, what we had always known to work were thrown out the window. So I would say that the driving force behind designing bags for the Balang Araw collection comes from the gratitude of our company surviving amidst the pandemic, working to keep it that way."
We are grateful for Ricardo's talent and graciousness because not only did he bridge partnerships for us here in the Philippines, he also brought our artisans' woven masterpieces to Lisbon for Fashion Week. He had picked the Pusô Adarnaspecifically for his Spring/Summer 2020 Collection because, and we quote, it was the only piece that had caught his eye when he visited ArteFino 2019.
Together with IKEA Philippines, we hope to continue creating positive impact during the pandemic and beyond. With Building a Better Normal Together, we shared some practical and meaningful skills with all of you, like how to make the world-famous Swedish meatballs and how to upcycle an old T-shirt into a reusable bag.
The corporate and international partners who have supported R2R through this time have allowed us to continue creating livelihood opportunities for the most vulnerable of us. We hope the stories here inspire you as they have inspired us! And if their stories spark ideas for you and the companies you are part of, we would love to explore possibilities with you, too.
Here are Our Impact Updates as of June 4, 2020, in numbers. These are the small steps that we at R2R have been taking so we could all come out of this COVID-19 lockdown stronger, kinder, and more compassionate as a community.
Here are Our Impact Updates as of April 21, 2020, in numbers. These are the small steps that we at R2R have been taking so we could all come out of this COVID-19 lockdown stronger, kinder, and more compassionate as a community.
A letter from the president of Rags2Riches & founder of Things That Matter, Reese Fernandez-Ruiz, on how we can weave through this tough time together. As a business that aims to create positive impact in our communities, R2R's top priority is to take care of the health of our team, artisans, and advocates. And at the same time, we also take the responsibility of "staying in business" very seriously.
We want to start the year by thanking you all for an amazing 2019. We couldn't have done it without all of you who showed love on our socials & even in person, attended our events and pop-ups, shared the advocacy and culture to others, and, of course, supported our artisans and communities by purchasing our pieces. Thank you so much!
Your starting point can happen anytime. It’s when you decide to show up for your dreams and be intentional in how you approach them. You don’t need to wait for a monumental event to start. It can happen on an ordinary day, at the moment you decide to pause and listen. It grows when you learn to give, when you find the intersections between what you care about and what others need.
The sky's the limit with R2R's versatile rugs that are handwoven with a lot of love and care by their community artisans. Learn five different ways to use them in your own home.
Jana of The Good Trade is one of the three advocate-ambassadors of R2R's Summer 2019 Collection, Hardin. We had a conversation with her on the lessons she learned while putting up the biggest sustainable lifestyle fair in Metro Manila, her life's why, and more.
When it comes to making sustainable fashion choices, it isn’t always easy when you’re surrounded by fast fashion brands everywhere you go, which is why we've created this little guide to thrifting in the Philippines.
Trying to do good may seem easy from the outside but it is a lot more complicated now than ever before. There are a lot of hard questions and we try to answer them to find out if sustainable living is even possible in the world we live in today.
This Our Partner Stories features WVN Home Textiles, a social enterprise with Filipino weaves at the heart of their ideas. Kylie and Yvette, its founders, talk about how they hustled with both WVN and their full-time jobs, their plans 10 years from now, and the sustainable practices they are trying to maintain.
How do we live with more compassion and intention? How can we incorporate sustainability into our work and in our relationships? In Life Stories La Union 2018: Sun, Surf, and Sustainability last June 29 to July 1, 2018, we gathered a tribe of like-minded people who wanted answers to these questions and to travel deeper.
To help you in your journey to a lifestyle that’s kinder and more thoughtful for the planet, we created this Zero Waste Living Starter Guide that includes 5 tips, along with recommendations of long-lasting and artisan-made products, to make your shift to zero or minimal waste journey much easier.
"to paint / to weave" is a series of watercolor painting on Vietnamese silk by artist Thao Nguyen Phan in collaboration with Rags2Riches (R2R) and its artisans. The paintings depict the scenario of women weaving in various forms, the action is removed from its original setting and has become romanticized and idealized in a timeless, non-specific environment.
We at R2R and Things That Matter are intentional about creating an integrated, opportunity-providing social enterprise from the very beginning. For 2018, these are the goals and numbers we reached thanks to our amazing community of advocates and partners who are with us as we work towards a more inclusive and compassionate world .
We are so excited to share this partnership with one of the Filipino fashion brands we admire; Bayo! They are pioneering a sustainable fashion initiative in the country and R2R is one of the first brands they are collaborating with.
The first of Our Partner Stories features Where To Next, a community of creatives with a passion for adventure and storytelling, and its co-founder, Ayen Dela Torre. Learn about how they began, their big dreams for 2019, and what it means to live and travel with purpose.
All the R2R pieces on this gift guide are made with more in mind. They won't just give joy to the recipient of the present; they also give a lot of joy to the artisan communities who made them. This is why they matter on this season of giving.
To celebrate Fashion Revolution Week 2018 (April 23 to 29), we're introducing to you three inspiring individuals and positive change makers that have been at the core of your favorite R2R products. They are the leaders and coordinators of some of the R2R communities who create the very soul of all your favorite R2R products, the signature R2R weave.
"I was a former university scholar and I sincerely believe that all the opportunities I have had access to in life would not have been possible without the help of the people who helped send me to school, and invested in my potential. This experience is what compelled me to help put up Mano Amiga Philippines nine years ago."
"I find that my choices are underpinned by these drivers: first is to leave this world better than when I have found it and two, to have the people around me recognize or remember that life is a gift."
We believe that gift-giving should be done with mindfulness and intention, like all other things we do for the people who matter. It’s so much better if the presents we purchase are made with a meaningful story, are functional for everyday use, and give joy to more than just the recipient.
This is why we have Gifts That Matter, our recommendations of gifts that are locally crafted, artisan-made, and story-filled. What else could be better kinds of presents on this season of giving?
Things That Matter is a joyful marketplace that creates positive impact and inspires an intentional lifestyle. But it is more than just a one-stop shop for all beautiful and meaningful products. It is also a community of advocates who are creating a better world, one intentional decision at a time.
