Materials company Ananas Anam has developed Piñatex, an animal-friendly alternative to leather made from pineapple waste.
The material uses fine cellulose fibres extracted from pineapple leaves – which are considered an agricultural by-product that is often burned or left to rot. An estimated 40,000 tonnes of this pineapple waste is generated globally each year.
Piñatex utilises waste taken from pineapple plantations in the Philippines, with local factories separating the strands and felting them together into a non-woven fabric that can be used for clothes, footwear or furniture. Around 480 leaves go into the creation of a single square metre of Piñatex, which weighs and costs less than a comparable amount of leather.
The fabric is breathable and flexible, and can be printed on and stitched. It's also available to purchase on a roll, avoiding the wastage caused by irregularly shaped leather hides.Currently the material includes a non-biodegradable protective top layer for durability, although the company is working towards a natural alternative that would make the fabric fully biodegradable.Piñatex was developed by designer Carmen Hijosa, who has spent the last 15 years working in the leather goods industry.
