DOST-PTRI launches ONWARD program, opens Vintar yarn facility
DOST-PTRI launches ONWARD nonwoven textile program and opens a new yarn production center in Vintar, Ilocos Norte, boosting local fiber-based manufacturing.
NEWS
7/6/20262 min read
Untying of the ONWARD Textile Exhibition led by PTRI Director Dr. Julius Leaño, Jr., DOST Undersecretary Dr. Teodoro Gatchalian, and ONWARD partners
The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Textile Research Institute launched a new program Wednesday, July 1 aimed at pushing the country's textile industry beyond traditional woven fabrics.
The program, called ONWARD — Philippine Nonwoven Textile Innovation — focuses on developing nonwoven materials from natural fibers and agricultural byproducts such as banana pseudostems, pineapple leaves, bamboo and water hyacinth. DOST-PTRI said the resulting materials could find use in medical, industrial and consumer products. The launch, held at SM North EDSA's Annex Atrium from July 1-2, featured an exhibition and panel discussions on sustainable textile innovation.
PTRI Director Dr. Julius L. Leaño, Jr also announced the opening of the country's first nonwoven innovation center in January 2027.
The ONWARD Textile exhibition
DOST-PTRI partners during ONWARD Perspectives Panel Discussion, joined by DOST Undersecretary Dr. Teodoro M. Gatchalian and PTRI Director Dr. Julius L. Leaño, Jr
DOST-PTRI Director Dr. Julius L. Leaño, Jr. Dr. Leaño also serves as Program Leader for the Nonwoven Innovations Program
DOST Undersecretary Dr. Teodoro Gatchalian
Two days later, in Vintar, Ilocos Norte, DOST-PTRI and the local government opened a separate facility: the Regional Yarn Production and Innovation Center, meant to strengthen the country's textile supply chain and support handweavers, farmers and artisans.
The micro-scale spinning plant turns abaca, banana, pineapple, bamboo and cotton fibers into yarn. It includes in-house dyeing and finishing, plus a basic testing lab for quality control.
The facility can produce 50 to 75 kilograms of yarn a day. Since its soft launch in November, it has turned out 1,000 kilograms of cottonized yarn. DOST-PTRI said the center is designed to support at least 860 weavers across 56 handweaving communities in the Ilocos region.
The agency called the Vintar plant part of a wider effort to squeeze more value out of indigenous and agricultural fibers and help meet demand under the Philippine Tropical Fabrics Law, which requires natural fiber-based fabrics in government uniforms.
Together, the two initiatives reflect DOST-PTRI's bet that the Philippines' agricultural byproducts — long treated as waste — can become the raw material for a homegrown textile industry, from yarn spun in a small Ilocos Norte facility to fabrics that never touch a loom at all.
Images: DOST-PTRI