Transit Dialog has published my article yesterday. Read it here:
“𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘬, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺.”
𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀
𝘉𝘺 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴
I bought a pair of silver earrings today. I don’t necessarily need them but they are handmade and made of recycled silver. And they were made in the Philippines. I have several piercings, so I will surely rock them soon. I cannot wait to share that they are locally-made when my friends ask me where I got them.
I have been buying Filipino products for a few years now. It started with my toiletries, as many brands sold here were mostly imported and expensive. I researched some up and coming local brands that I can support. After some trial and error, I was able to find my holy grail products. They’re all locally-made and fairly priced. This was the start of my passion for Filipino products.
In the last five years, I have noticed the emergence of local brands that produced quality products. The local fashion industry has been very productive. Most of my clothes are now local. I’m proud to say that they are of good quality and very stylish.
Later on, I added bags, shoes, jewelry, and accessories from local designers and shops. I attended trade shows to broaden my knowledge of local brands and to expose myself to the latest trends. I also featured my local finds on my blog, which enabled me to help them grow in my own little way.
I felt good whenever I bought a Filipino product, because I know that I am saving jobs for my fellow Filipinos. I also had fun researching local brands. It was exciting to watch these businesses grow and thrive. Many of them survived the pandemic, which means that I’m not alone in the quest to buy Filipino.
Local products are a conversation starter for me. I often get asked where I got a certain accessory or shirt, and I would proudly share the link of the seller. It feels great to share my passion to others, especially to those who are not aware that these brands exist in the first place. And since I used to work in a bank, I know firsthand that buying local is synonymous to boosting our economy.
We may not be sure of what the future will bring, but we can be sure that buying local can help our country grow and thrive.
Now that I am a published book author, I’m aware of how laborious it is to produce a single book. I have shifted my interests to my fellow Filipino authors. It is a joy to discover interesting books written by Filipinos, for Filipinos. I hope that you can also support Filipino authors like me, because we are also brands in need of your patronage and interest.
Lastly, being a foodie means that buying Filipino is an easy endeavor for me. I love supporting Filipino restaurants and snack brands. It makes me happy to see that a lot of them are world class and are able to compete with foreign cuisines and brands. I will continue eating Filipino food and of course, that includes brewing Filipino coffee beans at home.
It’s true that we live in very uncertain times. We can only control some parts of our lives, and that includes the brands that we support, and the products that we buy. I hope that you can buy Filipino more often, until it becomes second nature to you.
Supporting our fellow Filipinos will not only help them, but it’s also good for the soul. So, start today! Buy a Filipino product now and you will realize that there are still many reasons to have Filipino pride.
𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘎𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘉. 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨, 𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘢𝘮.𝘤𝘰𝘮.
Source: Transit Dialog
