Impact

2 BEAUTIFUL YELLOW FRUITS ARE CHANGING THE WORLD NOW!

bananas, a new perspective by lamentables.

by lamentables. bananas, a new perspective.

Cotton and leather are not so eco-friendly. Cotton, takes up a disproportionate amount of arable land, accounts for 25% of all pesticide use, guzzles tons of water, and contributes to the destruction of tropical rainforest. Many people, including Neil Young, are taking a stand against cotton. And leather has a whole host of other problems and protesters associated with it.

Now, 2 beautiful yellow fruits are creating new materials that will blow your mind, while being kind to our planet and its inhabitants. Check them out below.

BANANA “COTTON”

Bananas to the rescue! Eco-textile company Offset Warehouse uses bananas to create fabrics that could serve as a substitute for cotton. Fiber from banana stalks are spun and woven into fine materials.

The banana fibers used are primarily a waste product, sourced from the leftover stalks of banana plants after they have been harvested for food. There are billions of tons of banana plant waste produced every year around the world.

It takes only 37kg of stems to make one kilogram of fiber. The Philippines alone, is capable of producing about 300,000 tons of fiber from its banana crops.

The stalks contain long fibrous strands that can be easily turned into pliable fibers. Coarse fibers from out layers make beautiful baskets, while finer inner layer can be spun like silk.

Banana fiber makes beautiful soft textured fabrics that can make beautiful clothing. Banana fabrics can be heavy enough to be warm in the winter and, because they absorb moisture well, they can help you stay cool in the summer, perhaps even better than cotton does.

PINEAPPLE “LEATHER”

Pineapples offer another good alternative to cotton. Piñatex, by Ananas Anam, is a natural, sustainable and non-woven textile made from pineapple leaves. It looks and feels like leather.

Pineapple leaves are typically considered a waste product of pineapple production.

Piñatex extracts fibers from the pineapple leaves and turns the “waste” into beautiful clothing, accessories, and upholstery.

The fibers are extracted from the pineapple leaves in a decortication process, which also produces organic fertilizers and bio fuels to create even more eco-friendliness.

Ananas Anam is committed to using processes that enhance the well-being of the earth and its people through the entire life cycle of its, inspired by the *Cradle to Cradle® approach, which supports ecological, intelligent and innovative design policies.

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