Which country makes Panama hats?
Panama hats are made exclusively in Ecuador and are woven by hand from a plant called the Toquilla. The Panama hat has been worn for centuries with its origins being traced back as far as the 16th Century when the Incas were the first to use the Toquilla plant to produce hats. The hat in fact only became known as the Panama when over a century ago the workers involved in the construction of the Panama Canal used the elegant fibre hats as protection against the burning sun. Source: http://www.thehatsite.com/panama.
