Floreia: Turning Mother Earth’s scrap materials into sustainable fashion pieces

Dead shrubs plus fallen twigs plus recycled paper waste equals...a fashion accessory? Yes, says Floreia, a Cebu-based company that breathes new life into these otherwise useless or discarded materials and turns them into export-quality pieces.

In early 2000, while cleaning their surroundings, the Delantar family saw the potential to turn piles of dead twigs, shrubs and other agro-forest waste into a useful product. This resulted in the creation of an innovation called NaturesCast, through which "Mother Nature's scrap materials," as they called it, are transformed into furniture and accessories.

The Delantars then developed NuCast, a line of made from recycled newspaper. Both are patented worldwide under the family's company, Nature’s Legacy.

The Delantars later decided that the small, excess materials from the NaturesCast and NuCast lines could also be upcycled, and the fashion jewelry brand Floreia was born.

Floreia is spearheaded by 21-year-old Carlo Delantar. "I was raised submerged in our mother company, Nature’s Legacy," he says. "Long before global warming became an issue, I was already rooted in sustainability and eco-friendly products because of my parents and our company. It is our advocacy and way of life."

Delantar adds that fashion accessories themselves are disposable commodities. "With trends changing ever so often, accessories are used only a handful of times. We saw this as an opportunity to create eco-friendly, sustainable adornments, that once disposed will decompose with the rest of Mother Earth."
 

A Floreia piece takes three to five days to make, depending on its intricacy. A piece goes through a patented process: first, the raw materials are sourced from the communities. These materials are then combined with odorless, water-based binders and then painted. No VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) are used.

Floreia's accessories come in a variety of styles, from long-strand and bib necklaces to textured pieces that perfectly replicate real objects like sea shells. "The materials are so broad that we can create anything the market demands," says Delantar.

Floreia adheres to the core principles of its mother company, Nature’s Legacy. These include social responsibility: housing is provided for its employees along with educational programs, scholarships and continuous training. The company also set up the Nature's Legacy Foundation, with goals geared towards family and community enhancement.

And for its customers, the Floreia line is proof that you don't need to sacrifice style to be sustainable. — BM, GMA News

Floreia's accessories are exported to 28 countries worldwide, including the US and Japan. In the Philippines, they are available in Metro Cebu and online.