AN official from the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Textile Research Institute (DoST-PTRI) says textiles or garments, especially in the Philippines, cannot remain the same as 100 years ago. It must respond to the needs of the times, and to do that, science must always be there because if the industry fails to innovate, it will cease to exist.

In a sit-down interview with DoSTv's 'ExperTalk' program host, DoST-PTRI officer in charge Julius Leaño Jr. stressed that to differentiate what is truly Philippine textile, the cornerstone has to be science, technology and innovation.

'The DoST is very keen on exploring possibilities that we can make to study and find other possibilities and opportunities when it comes to Philippine textiles in general aside from the wearables that we are all familiar with. Right now, we can use the material which covers the ceiling of our vehicle of our cars, the one that goes with our facemask, and the one that goes in roadworks and civil structures. These are all the things where textile is part of,' Leaño explained.

He also shared the recently launched first Bamboo Textile Fiber Innovation Hub in Naguilian, La Union. It was established under the project dubbed 'Field Verification of the Bamboo Textile Material Production and Treatment Technology' funded by the DoST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (DoST-PCAARRD).

He also explained that textiles made of bamboo fibers are green and biodegradable and soft in texture, while the process and by-products of production are non-toxic and environmentally safe. He also shared an interesting information; that right now abaca's recovery is 1 percent, banana and pineapple are both 1.2 percent, but bamboo has at least 35 percent.

Watch the 'ExperTalk' episode aired on Jan. 25, 2023 through DoSTv's official Facebook page at https://fb.watch/ij1YRbAvkF/ and YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uflghoWdE9M&t=388s.