STORIES & UPDATES
From Payatas to the Global Stage: A Shell LiveWIRE 2026 Milestone
Project Payatas PH has been shortlisted for the Shell LiveWIRE 2026 Impact Makers competition, marking a new chapter in a community story that began with discarded textiles, mothers in Payatas, and a simple belief that waste can create value.
A recognition rooted in community work
This recognition belongs to a story bigger than an award. Project Payatas PH grew from community outreach into a social enterprise that turns discarded textiles into useful products and flexible livelihood for mothers in Payatas.
Shell LiveWIRE gives that local work a wider stage and a chance to share what community-based textile recovery can teach us.
2,803 kg
textile waste diverted in 2025
₱411,624
gross livelihood payouts in 2025
30–40
active mothers during 2025
₱1.2M+
annual sales recorded in 2025
What five years of making taught us
Five years of community upcycling taught us that good textiles should stay in use, and that recovery can create livelihood when communities are part of the pathway.
It also taught us that not every textile can be upcycled. Different materials need different next uses, clearer sorting and better traceability.
“Project Payatas showed us what community upcycling can do. Project Pilipinas is being built to connect that community experience to a wider textile recovery system.”
Four lessons shaping what comes next
01 • Reuse first
Keep usable textiles in circulation.
02 • Community value
Recovery can support local livelihood.
03 • Different pathways
Not every textile can be upcycled.
04 • Traceability
Partners need clearer recovery records.
The next chapter is an ecosystem
Project Pilipinas is the next step: a pilot-stage system connecting textile generators, community makers, buyers, recovery partners and future material innovators.
Project Payatas PH continues as our Founding Community Upcycling Partner.
The story in pictures
This milestone is an invitation
We are looking for companies, communities, recyclers, researchers, schools, local government, buyers, funders and technical partners who want to help build practical circular textile pathways.