Bags & Hats

Kalayaan means Liberation. In honour and manifestation of the liberation of our people, and our collective freedom from oppression.

Product Features

• A barong is a traditional Filipino formal shirt. Our barong tote is crafted from a mix of Jusilyn fabric—a blend of silk and polyester—and piña (pineapple) fibers.
• The print, designed by Pinay Collection founder Jovie Galit, is fully embroidered onto the fabric by our partner artisan in Laguna, Philippines, who also sources, sews and dyes the bags.
• Totes are double-lined ensuring it's not sheer and can protect your items.
• The tote measures 10 x 15 inches.

Proceeds

15% of each tote sale supports movements advancing the rights and justice for Pinay political prisoners in Mandaluyong, farmers and peasant communities in Batangas, and the LGBTQIA+ liberation movement in the Philippines. All in support of our community partners in the Philippines, GABRIELA/Free Our Sisters, Free Ourselves, Bahaghari, and Sugarfolks Unity for Genuine Agrarian Reform.

Care instructions: 

• Please do not put in the washer or soak in water.
• To clean, lightly rub the soiled area with small amount of water and detergent. Do not scrub harshly. Use cotton buds or any light cleaning material as tool.
• Do not iron. Steam at low.
• Tip: To protect your barong, consider using a professional dry cleaner if needed.

Behind the word

Maarte is a term often used to describe someone, usually a woman, as overly dramatic, nit-picky, or high-maintenance. It’s frequently wielded in a derogatory way to criticize someone who pays too much attention to detail—or even someone who expresses emotions or mental health struggles. For too long, Pinays have been treated with contempt for seeking more than what’s currently offered to them, or for daring to show vulnerability.

But by embracing kaartehan (the quality of being maarte) as a valid expression of character, creativity, and self-care, we pave the way for women to reclaim their right to be expressive and particular. This includes normalizing emotional expression and recognizing the importance of our mental well-being. When we assert ourselves or prioritize our mental health, we shouldn’t be dismissed or ridiculed for being maarte. It’s time to view maarte as a reflection of our ability to properly communicate our emotions, and  be creative in our aspirations—and to celebrate it as a strength, not a flaw.

Proceeds

15% of the proceeds from this collection will support GABRIELA/ Free Our Sisters Free Ourselves Campaign and its work to advocate for and liberate the LGBTQIA+ community in the Philippines. For the updated donation amounts and transparency report, please check out this link.

Product Features

• Black, 100% light cotton canvas
• Lightweight Tote
• Dimensions: 14 x 16 inches; 9" drop

Ingat Palagi translates to Take Care Always.

Filipino significance of the word Ingat: “Ingat became the word of goodbye, replacing the old “sige”, during the martial law years. It was the last word uttered between and among those meeting to discuss what had to be done, in ways big and small, to end the Marcos Dictatorship. It was said with all the love and respect one was capable of. Because chances were one would meet again only in a prison cell, or a torture house, or at a wake.” - Ninotchka Rosca

Ingat - a word so thoughtful and endearing that also represents triumph and resistance.

This design is a banig (weave) illustration by Jovie Galit. In this design, “Ingat Palagi” embodies the interconnectedness of community care, the tenderness of caring for one’s self, and the privileges we hold now as Filipinos because of the work of the revolutionaries that came before us.

Proceeds

15% of the profits from each sale of this product goes to  Sugarfolks' Unity for Genuine Agricultural Reform (SUGAR). SUGAR is an organization advocating for the rights and livelihoods of Sugarfolks' and farmers in Batangas, Philippines. Learn more about this partnership here. For the updated donation amounts and transparency report, please check out this link.

Product Features

• White/Cream, 100% natural cotton canvas
• Lightweight Tote
• Dimensions: 13 x 15 inches; 8" drop

The Cultural Significance of Jeepneys 

Emerging from the remnants of World War II, Jeeps, or Public Utility Jeepneys, have transformed into a cultural icon and an essential form of affordable public transportation for over 40% of commuters in Metro Manila and many provinces. Dubbed the "hari ng kalsada" (king of the road), jeepneys navigate routes where limited transportation options don't reach, providing a crucial service.

For many Filipinos in the diaspora, the imagery and fonts of jeepneys serve as a powerful connection to our culture and identity. It is vital to understand the challenges that drivers and operators face in the Philippines and to stand in solidarity with them. Learn more about the struggles of Filipino jeepney workers through PISTON's work and our blogs.

Proceeds

PISTON has been at the forefront of the #NoToJeepneyPhaseOut campaign, opposing the PUV Modernization program in the Philippines. They fight to promote and advance the basic demands of Filipino transport workers for decent and stable work, livable income, freedom of association, and all their economic and democratic rights.

15% of the proceeds from this product collection support PISTON's mission to advocate for a just and pro-people Philippine transport system. For the updated donation amounts and transparency report, please check out this link.

Product Features 

• Corduroy style baseball cap
• Structured and adjustable
• Hat circumference: 22.05 inches to 22.83 inches
• Height: 4.74 in
• Visor length: 2.75 in

Beyond the Word

Hinga at Pahinga translates to breathe and rest.

The design for hinga at pahinga is inspired by the sitting position of one who is practicing mindfulness. It is a stylized illustration of one who is at ease and in connection with their breath. As you look in more detail, the mouth is fully opened, a reminder that we are always whole. The hand comes together to form a heart, an homage to the overall message of self-love, and self-compassion in the practice of breathing mindfully.

This figure is created by writing the prayer, hinga at pahinga written in blue in contrast to the peach colour. By intentionally obscuring the prayer from our vision you are invited to feel and embody this prayer instead. Underneath the image is the word pahinga written in Baybayin. A direct reminder to return to our breath so we can reset to our natural easeful state of being.

Thich Nhat Hanh said that the path of coming home is with the breath. Breathing mindfully helps us listen to our own suffering. And the act of acknowledging our feelings without judgment is an act of homecoming (in the here, the now, in the present & in the body). 

Our own ancestors understood the significance of breath or air. I will always be in awe and gratitude to them for giving us the code to good relations through our script, Baybayin. I reflect on the Baybayin HA (doesn’t this look like how you would draw wind?). HA is the foundation syllable for any words rooted in air, wind (hangin) and breath (hinga). Such as ginhawa, the Tagalog word for wellbeing. In many Filipino indigenous teachings, the breath is understood as our spirit, our essence. Our diverse teachings emphasize our well-being depends on our harmonious relation to self, nature, spirits and community. Our breathing tells us when we are not in harmony in these realms, so it is good to pay attention to our breath and the air in our body.

To return to our breath is to return to our essence. I see this to mean, reset our nervous system and to realign back to the rhythm of mother nature. The act of rest (magpahinga) is to give attention to our breath so we can reset to our natural harmonious easeful state.

Design and artist statement by Althea Balmes

Proceeds

15% of the profits from each sale of this product goes to Sugarfolks' Unity for Genuine Agricultural Reform (SUGAR). SUGAR is an organization advocating for the rights and livelihoods of Sugarfolks' and farmers in Batangas, Philippines. Learn more about this partnership here. For the updated donation amounts and transparency report, please check out this link.

Product Features 

• Corduroy style bucket hat
• Adjustable
• Hat circumference: 22.83 inches
• Adjustable strap included inside

The design's baybayin writing translates to Free Palestine.

This design draws its inspiration from the story of the Palestinian crocodile extinction, a tale steeped in colonial violence, exploitation, and dispossession. According to an article from the Institute for Palestine Studies, the extinction of these crocodiles is deeply entangled with the brutal histories of colonial resource extraction, racialized labour exploitation, and the displacement of indigenous populations. The last known Palestinian crocodile's demise, officially marked in 1935 by a Zionist zoologist, symbolizes the destructive impact of colonialism on both human and non-human life.

This Palestinian narrative resonates deeply with the Tapar revolution in Iloilo, Philippines. During this uprising, Spanish colonizers executed Babaylans—Indigenous spiritual leaders—and desecrated their bodies by feeding them to crocodiles, an act intended to mock and undermine Indigenous reverence for these creatures. By featuring the crocodile on this t-shirt, we honour the intertwined struggles against colonial oppression, standing in solidarity with all who resist erasure and fight for liberation.

A huge credit and pasasalamat goes to Kira the Oddist for this beautiful design and story. Follow Kira's work @kiratheoddist!

For more resources on Filipino and Palestine solidarity, please check out the following:

• Huwag Matakot! Leaving Fear Behind as We Speak Up for a Free
• PalestineFilipinos in solidarity with Palestine call for Arms Embargo now!

Proceeds

100% of the profits from this merch ($12 for each tote) will go to Palestinian mutual aid efforts, including Little Gaza in Quezon City, Philippines, and supporting the Khattab family in getting Khaled and Tareq out of Gaza. For the updated donation amounts and transparency report, please check out this link.

Product Features

• White/Cream, 100% natural cotton canvas
• Lightweight Tote
• Dimensions: 13 x 15 inches; 8" drop

Product Features 

• 100% bio-washed chino twill
• Unstructured, six-panel, low-profile
• Self-fabric tri-glide buckle closure - antique brass
• Size: 6 5/8" - 7 3/8"

Imperialism is a dying beast,
its days numbered by the beat of marching feet,
by the ink of poets,
the calloused hands of workers,
the undying love of rebels in the hills.

Death to the hands that steal and shackle.
Life to the ones who dream and dare.
Life to liberation-
ours to take,
ours to build,
ours to live.

Proceeds

15% of the profits from this merch will go to Sudan Solidarity Collective (SSC). SSC was formed in response to the outbreak of a brutal war in Sudan. It seeks to resource grassroots civil society formations at the frontlines of relief efforts in those parts of Sudan that have been hardest hit by militarised state violence.

For the updated donation amounts and transparency report, please check out this link.

Product Features

• Navy, 100% natural cotton canvas
• Lightweight Tote
• Dimensions: 13 x 15 inches; 8" drop

Care Instructions

• Our designs are heat pressed onto fabric. To ensure they last a long time, please only wash in cold and tumble low and dry inside out. If you need to iron, only iron on the backside of the clothing.

This merch design is inspired by the Free Our Sisters, Free Ourselves campaign’s symbol—the butterfly, representing the fight to free political prisoners in the Philippines. These prisoners are activists, workers, and human rights defenders unjustly detained for resisting state violence and exploitation. The butterfly symbolizes resilience, transformation, and the ongoing struggle against political repression.

The design also features the poppy flower, a symbol of Palestinian resistance, honoring those who have fought against occupation and imperialist violence. Together, these symbols weave a narrative of interconnected struggles—against imperialism, occupation, and the continued criminalization of those who dare to resist.

Proceeds

15% of this collection will be donated to the Free Our Sisters, Free Ourselves (FOSFO) campaign - an international campaign under GABRIELA, against the political persecution and repression of women activists and human rights defenders in the Philippines. Learn more about FOSFO by checking out their Facebook page. For the updated donation amounts and transparency report, please check out this link.

Product Features

• Beige, 100% natural cotton canvas
• Lightweight Tote
• Dimensions: 13 x 15 inches; 8" drop

Care Instructions

• Our designs are heat pressed onto fabric. To ensure they last a long time, please only wash in cold and tumble low and dry inside out. If you need to iron, only iron on the backside of the clothing.

To love is to resist—to hold each other close while tearing down the systems that keep us apart. To fight is to remember—not just the wounds, but the hands that built, the voices that dared, the lives stolen yet never forgotten. To dream is to build the world anew - not in the image of power, but in the vision of those who have bled, struggled, and risen.

Love is not passive, memory is not just looking back, and dreaming is not escape. They are weapons, they are blueprints, they are critical to resistance. They are how we win.

This merch design is inspired by the Ylang-Ylang, a Filipino flower symbolizing love.

Proceeds

15% of the profits from this merch will go to Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction (TIHR). TIHR is a grassroots initiative that endeavors to reduce the harm and burden that society places on Indigenous people with stigmatized experiences such as substance use, houselessness, incarceration and most recently, covid-19 and more. The Indigenous People TIHR supports are survivors of this countries' historical and ongoing genocide, including residential schools, Indian day schools, the 60’s scoop, and the millennial scoop. 

For the updated donation amounts and transparency report, please check out this link.

Product Features

• Navy, 100% natural cotton canvas
• Lightweight Tote
• Dimensions: 13 x 15 inches; 8" drop

Care Instructions

• Our designs are heat pressed onto fabric. To ensure they last a long time, please only wash in cold and tumble low and dry inside out. If you need to iron, only iron on the backside of the clothing.
  

Sinigang is a classic comfort food—so why has it become too expensive for many Filipino families? A single serving of sinigang for a family of five, good for just two meals, now costs ₱575. That might not seem like much to some, but for workers earning poverty wages, farmers barely breaking even, and families living paycheck to paycheck, it's an impossible price. The very people who grow the vegetables, catch the fish, and sell the rice, the backbone of the country’s food system, can’t even afford to eat what they produce.

This is why the Philippine labour movement’s call for “Sahod Itaas. Presyo Ibaba.” (Raise Wages. Lower Prices.) is urgent. Skyrocketing food costs, corporate greed, and government neglect have turned hunger into a daily reality. Wages remain stagnant, farmers are forced to sell their harvests for next to nothing, and imported goods flood the markets, making local production unsustainable. The system is rigged—those who feed the nation are left to starve.

Proceeds

15% of the profits from each sale of this product goes to Bagsakan Farmers and Sugarfolks' Unity for Genuine Agricultural Reform (SUGAR). Bagsakan Farmers are a group of farmers from San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan, who has been experiencing exploitation and land grabbing for decades. SUGAR is an organization advocating for the rights and livelihoods of Sugarfolks' and farmers in Batangas, Philippines. 

For the updated donation amounts and transparency report, please check out this link.

Product Features

• Beige 100% natural hard cotton canvas
• Dimensions: 14 x 16 inches; 9" drop