You better believe it! Launched by the textile company Ananas Anam, pineapple leather or Piñatex is a biodegradable and sustainable alternative to leather that is made entirely from pineapple leaves.
Piñatex was the brainchild of designer, founder and CEO of Ananas Anam, Dr. Carmen Hijosa. While on a business trip to the Philippines, she came to the realization that leather is not a sustainable product. There had to be an alternative. That was when she was introduced to a barong tagalog, a traditional Filipino shirt, made from the fibers of pineapple leaves.
So she started to look into what else was made out of these fibers and discovered a lot of things including bags and fabrics. And no wonder—the material is not only strong and durable but beautiful as well. This inspired Dr. Hijosa to start her own company. And after years of research and development, Piñatex was born.
Piñatex comes from pineapple leaves, which is a by-product of the pineapple harvest. Using this plant waste, it is processed in a way where the fibers can be transformed into different textiles mimicking materials like leather. These materials are then sold to create fashionable and durable faux-leather products.
In addition to minimizing plant waste from harvesting, Piñatex does not rely on animals for its creation. And it doesn’t require the huge amounts of land, water and feed—not to mention hazardous chemicals—in order to be produced, unlike animal-derived leather.
Piñatex also offers an extra income to pineapple farmers and area workers. The entire process of harvesting the leaves can be done on the pineapple plantations, providing extra work for local workers. Then, the material resulting from processing the leaves can also be used or sold as fertilizer, meaning yet another income source for farmers and workers.
Along with being a cash crop for pineapple farmers, Piñatex actually comes at a lower cost than most leather. According to LifeGate Magazine, pineapple leather is about $27 per square meter versus $29 – $43 for animal leather. That kind of savings is causing big companies such as Puma and Camper to give Piñatex a second look.
Another impressive thing about Piñatex—it really is environmentally friendly. Anything made from it is biodegradable, plus it can even be composted when it’s time to throw it away. This makes pineapple my new favorite fruit!
Just imagine, we now have an even more astonishing creation made from pineapple besides Hawaiian pizza! Read a recent blog to learn more about some of the eco-friendly fashions today’s designers are creating.
Destined to be more than a delicious fruit, pineapple is also now a sustainable material for shoes, handbags and so much more. What other alternatives or leather-like substitutes are you aware of? We’d love to hear about your discoveries—just leave us a comment below!Resources:
There’s a company that uses pineapples to make dye for their clothing. Now this?! So much my favorite fruit can do!! 🙂
Very interesting
Love this idea!
It’s so wonderful that alternatives are being sought out and discovered for common commodities. Yay!
I am always amazed when someone is able to think out side the box and come up with a great idea. I love the idea of making use of a part that we normally throw away. I can’t wait to see this grow!
I hope this makes its way to Hawaii soon! I would totally buy some on my next vacation!!