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Piñatex

by Theresa Christine Johnson on 08/25/2016 | 3 Minute Read

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In looking towards the future of packaging and viable materials to make fashion, accessories, furnishings, car products, and more, Dr. Carmen Hijosa has harnessed the power of pineapple. Piñatex is a natural and sustainable non-woven textile made from the fibers of pineapple leaves. Developed by Ananas Anam, the material is a by-product of the pineapple harvest, requiring no extra land, water, fertilizers, or pesticides. Leather is not only harder to come by but rather expensive, and this alternative option is just as reliable and strong. And don’t worry, no pineapples are harmed in the making of Piñatex!

The current product range of Piñatex is available for brands that specialize in footwear, fashion, and furnishing, but we hope to see more of it soon. Piñatex answers the call for alternative materials that don’t waste natural resources, harm animals, or pollute the environment.

“Piñatex™ was created by Dr. Carmen Hijosa. Carmen’s journey began in Spain, but her career has taken her across the globe, from Ireland to Germany, to the UK and The Philippines. She worked in both the design and manufacture of leather goods for many years before going to the Philippines to carry out further research into the development of products made from natural fibres.”

“A breakthrough came when she realized that she could make a non-woven textile, a fabric bonded together without knitting or weaving, from the long fibres found in pineapple leaves. The culmination of her work resulted in the creation of Piñatex, a unique natural and sustainable textile made from pineapple leaf fibres, a by-product from the pineapple harvest.

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While you are reading these lines, Carmen Hijosa and her team are working in London. On the other side of the globe, the Filipino farmers are extracting the fibres from the pineapple leaves. The fibres are then sent to a textile finishing company in Spain where the transformation from a fiber mesh into Piñatex takes place. This is the Piñatex magic.”

“The fibres that make Piñatex™ come from pineapple leaves. The fibres are extracted from the leaves during a process called decortication, which is done at the plantation by the farming community. Furthermore, the by-product of decortication is bio-mass, which can be further converted into organic fertilizer or bio-gas. Both the extraction of the fibers and the consequent bio-mass will bring added revenue stream to the farming communities. The fibres then undergo an industrial process to become a nonwoven textile, which is the base of our material Piñatex™.”

“The final step in the making of Piñatex™ takes place at a textile finishing company in Spain, where our unique finishing process is done before being shipped all over the world. With leather becoming more scarce and expensive, there is an enormous opening in the market for alternative materials, which to date have been partially filled by plastics and technical textiles. The arrival of a suitable material of natural origins such as Piñatex is likely to be a welcome addition in this growing market segment.”

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Designed by: Ananas Anam

Country: United Kingdom

City: London