Shawn P. Mitchell

Leather Made From Pineapple Leaves

A Spanish innovator has developed a new textile from discarded pineapple leaves.

Updated:

An oil painting of a golden pineapple on the beach.

Leather is a key ingredient in our day-to-day lives. It is used in everything from bags and briefcases to belts and boots.

Unfortunately, the leather industry is a major polluter.

However, substitutes are beginning to enter the market.

Piñatex is the latest company to develop an eco-friendly leather substitute. The company produces its faux-leather from the natural fibers of a pineapple leaf.

The pineapple fibers are extracted from leaves, degummed, and processed into a mesh.

This mesh is then transported to Spain for finishing into a soft, flexible, leather-like textile.

Its founder, Dr. Carmen Hijosa, launched the company through the InnovationRCA business incubator at the Royal College of Art in the United Kingdom.

Unfashionable Fashion

Over 60% of the world’s clothing is made of plastic.

This plastic comes with names like nylon, polyester, and acrylic.

Repeated washing of these materials leads to micro-plastics being released into the environment.

Plastic is also a key part of most fake leathers.

Typically, fake leather is made of knitted polyester with a polyurethane coating.

To reduce the amount of micro-plastics entering our environment, see if you can find retailers offering leather and other fabrics that are plastic-free.

Comments

6 responses to “Leather Made From Pineapple Leaves”

  1. www.corneliaweber-photography.com Avatar
    www.corneliaweber-photography.com

    That is great news, Shawn, I didn’t know about it, thank you for educating through this post. Although I didn’t find the click for watching a video.

    Reply
    1. Shawn P. Mitchell Avatar
      Shawn P. Mitchell

      Hello Cornelia! Thank you for the comment. Here’s hoping we’ll see more sustainable textiles emerging in the near future.

      The video is contained within a tweet and is embedded in the page. I will have to look and see if there is something I can do to improve this.

      Hope you’re doing great! Talk soon. 😀

      Reply
      1. www.corneliaweber-photography.com Avatar
        www.corneliaweber-photography.com

        Hi, Shawn, thank you so much for your kind reply. Yes , I agree, lets hope for more sustainable textiles coming up with more great ideas. Hope you both are doing great. I miss yours and Tricia’s travelling posts.
        Have a great weekend. Please give my regards to Tricia.

        Reply
    2. Shawn P. Mitchell Avatar
      Shawn P. Mitchell

      Thanks, Cornelia! Will do. I will also try to get more travel pieces published. 😀

      Reply
  2. Dalo 2013 Avatar
    Dalo 2013

    Pineapple leaves ~ a fascinating idea, and it must have been great learning about this process. I’ve been involved with the first Cargill rollout of their corn-fiber, which at the time there was hope it would replace a large amount of polyester fibers used in the textile world but it was tough to get a foothold. There are now so many similar type of fibers out there that it is easy to forget that the bulk are still synthetic or come from less efficient systems such as tanneries and leather products. Loved the perspective you took with the video, well done ~

    Reply
    1. Shawn P. Mitchell Avatar
      Shawn P. Mitchell

      Thanks, Randall! Here’s hoping we see synthetic fibers completely replaced in the near future by more sustainable alternatives. It is an exciting development! I will have to look into Cargill’s corn fiber. It seems like it could have a greater probability of disrupting the market.

      Reply

Share your thoughts…