PHL showcases tropical fabrics at textile industry conference

IT was a colorful fashion event of products of innovation in Filipino-made textile fibers from pineapple leaf, abaca, banana and Philippine silk that were designed for government officials’ and employees’ uniforms.

The event was not your regular fashion show. It was held at the Philippine Textile Industry Stakeholders’ Conference that showcased the Philippine Tropical Fabrics (PTF) at a hotel in Makati City on January 26.

The event was part of the monthlong celebration of PTF, which is held every January. This year’s theme, “Pushing Boundaries for Sustainable, Competitive, and Inclusive Philippine TextileGarment Industry,” celebrates milestones in its activities and programs, said the DOST in a news release.

“Innovation powers the future of the textile industry,” said Science Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. during the conference.

“We hope to continuously empower our farmers, community weavers and small businesses, who are an integral part of the value chain through S&T programs and projects. The blended textiles made from locally sourced fibers is an illustration on the ability of science to contribute to national economic progress,” Solidum pointed out, the news release said.

The Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) of the DOST is tasked to create and innovate textiles and auxiliaries in support of the industry.

Hinged on the requirement of Republic Act 9242, the institute has developed yarns and textiles in its PTF since 2005.

They are yarns containing at least 20 percent pineapple, banana or abaca fibers blended with polyester, woven in the mill with polyester warp, effectively meeting the 5 percent by weight minimum natural textile fiber requirement in the fabric stage.

Another significant textile technology is the development of Philippine silk. DOST invested in a Silk Research and Innovation Hub in Misamis Oriental.

To keep Philippine silk cost competitive, the DOST developed a process to generate 7 kilogram (kg) of raw silk a day, requiring 15 hectares of mulberry farm, providing additional income of P16,000 each month to almost 60 families with at least halfhectare farm.

Also, the Silk Innovation Hub in Kalinga serves the silk production in Cordillera. In 2023 two more will be launched, one each in Aklan and in Negros Occidental.

The DOST also sustained a genomic project to maintain the productivity and vigor of the largest silkworm germplasm in the Philippines.

Through these efforts, natural textiles have expanded from wearable items to nonwoven applications for filtration and automotive, and bags and footwear through drylaid textiles under the nonwoven textiles R&D. through the Integrated Wastewater-Based Epidemiology and Data Analytics for Community-Level Pathogen Surveillance and Genetic Tracking (iWAS) Project.

Developing natural dyes is another important component in textile transformations.

The DOST focuses on this to prevent toxic byproducts in the processing of textile and the income opportunities given to local farmers and manufacturers.

Through DOST investments, the Natural Dyes (NatDyes) Center that serves as the core facility for natural dyes R&D and product development is able to link 11 NatDyes Hubs all over the Philippines.

The Science office aims to add three more NatDyes hubs this year. A large-scale indigo dyeing machine is already also working in DOST-PTRI.

The event brought together stakeholders from the industry, government and academe, and highlight the significant role of collaborations in enabling innovation-led and creative studies for textile-garment and allied industries.

T he conference also featured an exhibit of design creations from Filipino artisans, the news release said.

Wastewater samples from six Davao City barangays contained a high volume of SARS-CoV-2 RNA genetic material even though the barangays were classified as having a low risk of Covid-19 transmission and has no report of new infections, the researchers said.

The WBE research is eyed to be expanded to Tagum in Davao del Norte and Digos City in Davao del Sur.

What emerged after the research was the significance of using wastewater-based epidemiology “to aid with public health management.”

“The collaboration resulted in multiple studies that underscore the value of wastewater research in public health surveillance,” the researchers said.

While there was an assurance that the SARS Cov-2 virus may not be infectious anymore, further studies may be needed to address some more issues, including the finding that some of RNA materials were the mutations of the virus.

Otero said there may be a need to improve the equipment of government laboratories to be able to effectively determine the type of variants that mutated.

Del Mundo, Project iWAS leader, said the research, “Multifaceted Assessment of Wastewater-Based Epidemiology for SARS-CoV-2 in Selected Urban Communities in Davao City, Philippines: A Pilot Study,” explained how WBE research “can provide effective and faster analysis of community-level Covid-19 infection using fewer resources.”

“Clinical monitoring, such as RT-PCR [reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction] testing, and contact tracing are limited in the early detection or prediction of community outbreaks and can be logistically demanding and expensive when applied to a large population,” del Mundo said.

The researchers urged the Philippine government to consider WBE as a powerful and cost-effective tool for public health surveillance.

“Detecting RNA in wastewater could help LGUs forecast what barangays are at risk and may need closer monitoring, rather than a blanket lockdown,” Jaraula said in a news release.

“We should consider this as science-based tools to determine which barangay is more susceptible,” she added.