If you want to buy a panama hat you should choose one that is handmade in Ecuador. Ours come from a women’s cooperative in the Cuenca province where 400 weavers work at lightening speed, making sun hats for men, women and children.

Panama Hats are woven or crocheted from 'Paja Toquilla' straw, a filament split from the leaves of the Carludovica Palmata plant indigenous to elevated areas in Ecuador.