In recent years, a remarkable transformation has been taking place in the world of fashion. As concerns about environmental sustainability and animal welfare have grown, more and more people are turning to plant-based clothing as a viable and ethical alternative. In this article, I explore the fascinating world of pineapple-based clothing!
We will all wear pineapples to work one day. That day will be here soon.
We will wear pineapples to dinner, to a charity gala, to the disco.
We will celebrate that pineapple happiness. We will show off our pineapple shoes. We will flash our pineapple bags and capes. All bright and shiny, with all its awesomeness.
Oh yes, me too.
If you know me one bit, you know that I am no fashion enthusiast. I buy mostly white shirts and black jeans, and tie my hair in a messy bun. I put my make-up in a hurry, if I put it at all. My daughter thinks I am color-blind because I can never seem to get things to match quite right.
Fashion is never on my list of annual priorities. But sustainability is.
I want to share an interesting trend which is likely to get bigger in this decade - Clothes made from plants! Given that the fashion industry is notorious for its large carbon footprint, this is a welcome change. There are companies making serious attempts at creating dress materials out of plants such as pineapple and cactus.
In today's post, I want to introduce you to pineapple fashion.
Yep, clothes made from pineapple. A company called Ananas Anam creates an innovative natural textile called Piñatex made from waste pineapple leaf fiber.
The leaves are a byproduct of existing agriculture, and their use creates an additional income stream for farming communities.
The company states that the pineapple leaves are sourced sustainably and are cruelty-free. Piñatex has been positioned as an alternative to both mass-produced leather and polluting synthetic materials. I love that Ananas Anam supports rural farming communities by working directly with farming cooperatives to create an additional stream of income to pineapple farmers. Here is how their supply chain process works:-
The process starts in Philippines where the leaves of the pineapple plant are collected, processed to extract the fibers and then manufactured into a non-women substrate. The substrate is then sent to Spain where it is finished into Piñatex and sent worldwide. Ananas Anam is headquartered in London, UK.
I reached out to Ananas Anam a couple months ago and they were excited to share their story with me. Piñatex® was developed over many years of R&D by Dr. Carmen Hijosa who was driven to research a sustainable alternative after being shocked at the environmental impact of mass leather production and chemical tanning. Since pineapple leaves were an agricultural waste, no extra land, water, fertilizers or pesticides were required for its production. This is how pineapple clothing started!
There are a few fashion brands that are starting to incorporate Piñatex® materials into their clothes. I reached out to a few of them and they shared their looks with me!
This below is Andrea Kader's line called Morpho, in partnership with Piñatex®. Andrea creates modern, sustainable clothing, loves the idea of re-purposing and up-cycling as well as innovative fabric manipulations. Look at the gorgeous colors and the shine and the uniqueness!
Photo credit: Morpho by Andrea Kader
Another interesting designer brand is Mistohn. These folks never use leather or fur but champion innovative fabrics. Their fancy drape capes made of Piñatex® are certainly making headlines!
Photo credit: Mistohn
Another noteworthy brand is HfS Collective. This ethical and sustainable, Los Angeles-based brand uses premium, animal-and-earth-friendly materials. Their bags are made at a small, family-run factory near Los Angeles and 2% of the purchase price of every bag sold is donated to an organization that empowers women and protects the planet.
These bags below use Piñatex®...I love that they are hands-free belt-bags!
Photo credit: HfS Collective
Loyal Footwear is yet another brand working on sustainability in shoes.
In their women-run, small batch factory in Hoboken, NJ, Loyal Footwear has a variety of shoes that uses plant-based Piñatex®. Have a look below - I am so tempted to buy one pair, I love the shine!
Photo credit: Loyal Footwear
Piñatex® is the new material for our new world! Like Piñatex®, unquestionably we will see more such companies start to manufacture materials from pineapple leaves. Over the years, we are likely to see cushions, lamps, furniture and watch belts made from this material.
As more customers become environmentally aware and more options like Piñatex® become available, we will also see some of these fashions becoming a lot more affordable. I can't wait for that day to arrive!
Note for interested folks:
Brands such as H & M (Sweden), Matea Benedetti (Slovenia), Hugo Boss (Germany), Bego Vegan (Canada), Manavai(Chile), Momoc (Spain), Nae Vegan (Portugal), Nature (Denmark), One Step (USA), Po Zu (UK), Rombaut (France), Edun (USA), Ahimsa Collective (Australia), Artesano (USA), Camille (France), Distyled (Lithuania), Hozen (USA), Humour Noir (Germany), Insecta (Peru) and Dokmai (Rwanda) are also already using Piñatex® in their fashion lines. Most are small designer brands, hopefully we will see H & M take this idea mainstream.
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