PineappleLeather
is recycled into new clothing.^ In 2015, greenhouse-gas emissions from textile production amounted to 1.2 billion tons of CO2.^ Washing an acrylic piece of clothing can shed 728,789 microplastics(piecessmallerthan5-mmlongthatpollutetheocean).Thequantityofmicroplasticsreleasedbetween2015and2050couldbe22milliontons.
In1960,1,710,000tonsoftextilesweresenttolandills.In2015,itwas10,530,000TheCFDA Cowleather,silk,andcottonhavethehighestenvironmentalimpactbeforereachingtheconsumer(whichdoesn’taccountfortheibers’durabilityorend-life).tons.BananaCanvas
HOW IT FEELS:
It has a distinct wrinkled
texture but is smooth to the
touch. It’s pliable, like
animal leather, and does
not stretch or give.
UPSIDE:The makers of
Piñatex source pineapples
from the Philippines. The
fibers are bundled, mixed
with polylactic acid, and
coated with a petroleum-
based resin, though Piñatex
is working on becoming
petroleum-free. The result is
a sti fabric with a
distinctive wrinkled texture
that can be used in place of
leather. Piñatex has
collaborated with brands like
H&M, Hugo Boss, and
Sydney Brown and is often
one of the brand-name
ecofabrics you’ll hear about
first. It’s made from naturalfibers that are discarded
in agricultural production,
it doesn’t involve any cruelty
to animals, and it comes in
colors like red and silver.
DOWNSIDE:Piñatex is not
biodegradable—yet. The
company is working on it.
But it’s coated in petroleum-
based resin. So while it has
a lower carbon footprint than
animal leather, it will not fully
biodegrade. Kate Spade
designer Nicola Glass decided
she wanted to bond the
Piñatex to leather rated “gold”
by the Leather Working
Group, because the back of the
Piñatex was rough. The
bonding also made it a bit
thicker and more durable.BANANATEX
JUMPSUIT
byRACHEL
COMEY“TheBananatex
materials
don’tneedextra
waterfor...
theabacá
plants,where
theygetthe
bersfor
thecanvas.”
—RachelComeyBANANATEX JACKET AND SKIRT
by ZERO MARIA CORNEJO
“The fabric determines the shape of what I design.
A lot of the time, organic or sustainable fabrics are not that
technical, so it’s great to have a techy fabric in something
sustainable. It doesn’t look like banana anything; it looks
like it could be nylon.” —Maria Cornejo(^) PIÑATEX PURSE by KATE SPADE
“There’s a customer who is going to ...
be attracted to the metallic material.
But I think you’ll have someone out there
who would care about sustainability.
I like the appeal to both.” —Nicola Glass
BANANATEX
PURSE by
HUNTING
SEASON
“Some of [the new
fabric] is rough,
and I want to make
a piece that feels
feminine and
beautiful ... That’s
why I was drawn
to Bananatex ...
I knew I could
work with it.”
—Danielle Corona
AUGUST SEPTEMBER , THE CUT 33
HOW IT FEELS: Like a cross
between nylon and cotton
canvas. Comey describes it as
having a “bouncy, round
handfeel,” and Cornejo
describes it as “techy.”
UPSIDE: Bananatex touts itself
as the world’s “first durable,
waterproof fabric made purely
from banana plants.” Made from
fibers found in the leaf stock of
the abacá plant (a species of
banana), Bananatex was
developed over three years by
the Swiss bag brand Qwstion,
a yarn specialist, and a weaving
partner. Abacá, grown in the
Philippines, requires no
pesticides or extra water, unlike
cotton (which is commonly used
to make canvas). Only the leaf
stock needs to be harvested to
make the fabric, leaving the rest
of the plant in the forest. The
fibers are extracted, made into
a paper, spun, woven, and then
optionally coated with beeswax.
The result is a biodegradable
canvas that’s almost
indistinguishable from linen or
hemp canvas. And since it was
developed for bags, it’s durable
enough to replace synthetics.
A Qwstion rep said the company
put samples of Bananatex into
“average soil” and after five
months found only fragments—
it’s expected to completely
biodegrade in less than a year.
DOWNSIDE: After working
with the fabric, Comey
said it seemed spectacular
but that it was hard to tell how
it would a ect the forest
ecosystem. Qwstion responded
that because the plant is not
harvested, there’s “no negative
impact at all.” But there’s a
downside for all new materials.