Fruit bowl fashion

Clothes made of coconut husks, banana stems and pineapple leaves… sounds uncomfortable right? Apparently not.

Cocona, a new textile made from coconut husks, is currently being used by two clothing brands. The fabric improves sportswear performance by cooling the wearer’s body more efficiently and also dries quicker when washed.

Meanwhile in Nepal, banana stems are being used to create a soft fabric similar in texture to bamboo-based viscose. And perhaps most surprisingly, spikey pineapple leaves have been successfully processed into a leather alternative called Pinatex – vegans rejoice! Helpfully a by-product of making Pinatex from pineapple leaves can also be used as an organic fertiliser to help the next crop of pineapples along.

The great advantage of these fabrics is that they use parts of plant that are usually discarded. It takes a thousand coconut husks to make 10kg of fibre, without requiring any additional water, land or fertiliser – which means coconut farmers get extra income for their work.

Currently the clothing industry puts serious strain on the environment.  Cotton plantations in particular use a lot of water and plus chemicals for processing, and leather-making is also chemical-intensive.

By contrast, making fabric from food production by-products reduces the industry’s reliance on raw materials and creates income for developing countries.

So move over cotton, the fruit bowl is ready to take over fashion.

You can read more here and here.