In the new family of genius inventions there is a new amazing alternative to leather, 100 % vegan and made with pineapple fibers. From the Spanish « piña », meaning pineapple, Piñatex® is the result of long years of research and seduces more and more designers for their fashion, shoes, clocks and even design.
Concretely how does it work ? Rather than throw them out, the leaves growing around the pineapples are gathered and their fibers are separated, resulting in a fabric of long white angel hair, assembled in a factory located in Barcelona. In short, recycling with practically no environmental impact.
A little bit of history : in the 1990s, Spanish designer Carmen Hojisa went to the Philippines (as consultant in the leather industry consulting, total irony) and discovers the ultra toxic impact of this mass production. In parralel, she is mesmerized by the Barong Tagalog, a noble and solid traditional habit made of fibers and pineapple leaves.
The 50-year-old senses there is a treasure trove, works hard on its development and research, graduates on the late side with a doctorate from the Royal College of Art in London, and creates Piñatex®, winning a wide array of innovation prizes including the « PETA Approved »vegan logo in 2016. Kudos to her.
Result, Puma has created a prototype of sneakers with this tropicool , Camper is right behind them, and the success story continues with the arrival of many cool labels such as Bourgeois Bohème, the biker blouson by Laura Strambi, Votch watches the colourful clothing of Liselore Frowijn and the glitter bags of Taikka. You could almost eat it.
[Note from the editor: no pineapple was mistreated during the reporting and writing of this article.]
All the information on www.ananas-anam.com.
