Is pineapple leaf fabric sustainable?

Piñatex is composed of 70% pineapple leaves, 20% PLA (Polylactic acid), 5% Bio PU (Polyurethane) and 5% PU (Ananas Aman 2022). PLA (polylactic acid) is a plastic material of plant origin obtained from corn starch from a renewable source. The base substrate, without the coating, is 80% pineapple leaf fiber and 20% PLA.

Analysis

Environmental aspect – Biological lifecycle

The biological lifecycle of Piñatex starts in the Philippines with collection of leaves, a by-product of the pineapple harvest, representing a point of material recovery (Zeb. & Kortelainen 2021). Not only means many triple bottom advantages like no need of any land nor use of water, fertilizer, pesticides but Piñatex also reduces agricultural waste, saving emissions, supporting local rural communities and their economies offering a further source of income to pineapple farmers, and unlocking the commercial potential for natural fibers in developing countries.

In processing raw material to fibers (PALF) there is another point of material recovery: the bio-mass left from the decortication of leaves to extract the fibers is used as an organic fertilizer (back to the fields of pineapple cultivation) or as bio-fuel.

Environmental aspect – Technical lifecycle

In the technical lifecycle, processing and manufacturing require low water, produce low waste, and don’t involve harmful synthetic chemicals (banned substances on the Cradle2cradle list) (Ananas Anam 2023). The energy used is not renewable (Agoston 2019), but Ananas Anam has recently introduced the 1^st solar-powered decorticating stage. After washing & purification of fibers, PALF gets mixed with PLA and undergoes a mechanical process to create Piñafelt, a non-woven mesh that is biodegradable. The next step in technical cycle, finishing, has the disadvantage of greenhouse gases produced for transportation: rolls are shipped to Spain or Italy, where Piñafelt is coloured using GOTS certified pigments and coated with a water-based PU resin (REACH compliant). “We have optimized the maximum amount of bio-based PU that we can use while still guaranteeing the longevity of our materials,” it is explained on the site.

Social aspect

Socially, Piñatex creates new jobs in rural areas, like leaf gathering, fibres extraction, logistics and quality control systems (Ananas Aman 2023). The short value chain is transparent and traceable, based on fair trade economy principles (B-Corporation 2020), supervising the supply chain from plant to product. Nevertheless, there are few details disclosed on income, inclusivity, women empowerment, and other social issues on company’s website. Moreover, the local employees’ ownership of the company would be a further social advantage.

Economical aspect

Economically, Piñatex gives a further source of income to pineapple farmers, supporting local economies and strengthening their exports (Ananas Aman 2023). It’s attracting for investors: the company has recently received an investment of €250,000 (Jung 2021). The production is scalable with 27 million tons of pineapple leaf waste generated annually. The other side of the coin is that the business can potentially attract large multinational companies threating local people development and economic growth, and undermining the limited consumption of the material.

The bio-based leather market is expected to grow to a significant rate, projected to reach USD 868 million by 2026; the increasing demand for sustainable alternatives to leather and for vegan footwear are augmenting Piñatex market size (Report Linker 2021). However, the disadvantage is that Piñatex is cheaper compared to original animal leather but costlier than alternatives to leather based on synthetic materials.

Usage and and end of life

At Ananas Anam’s clients where final products (bags, shoes, upholstery, etc.) are manufactured, the sustainability assessment depends on producer’s policies. However, besides few large companies, customers are currently mainly professional designers, that use energy to power things like sewing machines, and in general few resources are used and wasted. For large scale productions, the consumption of resources would be much more impactful (Agoston et al. 2019).

The end of life is not environmental-friendly like the beginning:

• the final product doesn’t last for decades like genuine leather (Craft 2023)
• it isn’t fully biodegradable neither recyclable. It goes to landfill/incinerator with the consequent impact in terms of energy and emissions (Agoston et al. 2019), representing wasted embedded value (Niiimäki 2018).

However, it has good tensile strength and resilience, is made to last. It doesn’t require additional energy for use and maintenance of the material (Agoston et al. 2019), production of emissions, nor high water consumption.

Ananas Anam is working on adding two material recovery points:

• Closure of the loop through controlled degradation of final products, going back the fields at the beginning of the biological cycle.
• Recycle of shredded fibers, going back to processing & manufacturing steps in the technical cycle.

Conclusion

Having many environmental, social and economic benefits and contributing to 10 UN Sustainable Development Goals, Piñatex seems like a good sustainable alternative to animal leather and synthetic materials.

Nevertheless:

• it is not currently completely relying on renewable energy
• transportation has a greenhouses impact
• the last phase of manufacturing the final products doesn’t guarantee sustainability conditions
• and the final products are not fully biodegradable neither not recyclable. The economy loop is not closed at the moment.

Ananas Anam is seriously engaged in innovation towards a Cradle to Cradle model, making every year great steps towards a circular economy, and making the product more accessible to small producers. The model then replicated and applied to other natural fibers from food waste locally in any different location could represent a very interesting sustainable option.

After the publication of the theoretical contribution, Ananas Anam launched Piñayarn®, an innovative, low-impact yarn made from waste pineapple leaves.
Piñayarn offers a 100% vegetable, recyclable and biodegradable textile solution. It is created in closed-loop manufacturing that ensures zero waste. The dry spinning technology used to produce Piñayarn requires no water or harmful chemicals, creating a naturally breathable and biodegradable yarn, with a low environmental impact.

We carry out detailed material analyzes for our customers. If you are interested, write to us.