Would You Believe that These Leather Goods are Made from Pineapple Fibers?

Leather is a commodity that a lot of people use in their daily lives. We use them for bags and wallets. They adorn our furniture. We use them for shoes. But using leather comes at the cost of cows’ lives. This is why, while leather might be a popular fabric choice for most people, those who are against using animals for anything other than survival aren’t exactly big fans of leather.

Luckily, there’s one other source of leather that Carmen Hijosa saw and discovered. Carmen was visiting the Philippines when she was introduced by the locals to the use of pineapple leaves to create fabrics, particularly for the Philippine national attire – the Barong.

The Barong, the national attire of the Philippines, is made using pineapple fibers.

After extensive research on pineapple leaves as an alternative to conventional textiles, she invented a sustainable leather alternative made from the fibers of pineapple leaves.

Who would have thought that the leaves of a pineapple plant can become leather?

Carmen then founded a startup called Piñatex™, which manufactures these fibers and turns them into durable leather and incidentally also the name of the leather they produce. Now, this new fiber is seen as a possible alternative to leather by the fashion industry.

Pinatex leather samples.

In addition to that, Piñatex™ has also received numerous awards including the Award of Material Innovation from the Arts Foundation in the UK. Piñatex™ has also been certified as “Vegan Fashion Label” by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Carmen Hijosa working on a leather sample.

Piñatex™ has given Filipino farmers even more income due to the demand for pineapple fibers, and the world now has a cruelty-free, vegan option for leather!

For more information on Piñatex™, visit their website and check out the variety of leather goods they have!