How People Profit Off Pineapple Scraps | World Wide Waste | Insider Business

Entrepreneurs like Carmen Ijosa are using a centuries-old technique to extract fibers from pineapple leaves and turn them into an alternative to leather. Companies such as Ananas Anam, Piñatex, and Womsh are also making money by creating sustainable textile products from the waste of pineapples.

Pineapples were originally from South America and became a status symbol in Europe, gifted to royalty. The fruit was brought to the Philippines where locals turned it into a fabric called Pina which inspired Carmen when she first heard about it 30 years ago.

The founder of ananas Anam discovered that pineapple leaves have the perfect mix of strength and flexibility for textile production, leading her to create Pina text and Pina yarn as replacements for animal leather and traditional yarn. The company partners with Dole Sunshine Company and independent farmers to employ over 500 people in harvesting pineapple leaves that would otherwise go to waste.

Pineapple fibers are extracted, dried in the sun and browned. The fibers are then shipped to Barcelona where they become Pina yarn after being chopped into manageable pieces by a guillotine-like machine, straightened using a carting machine and ground until resembling cotton.

Pineapple leaves are transformed into a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to leather called Pinatex. The process involves compacting the fibers, spinning them with cornstarch threads, dyeing and drying them using plant-based resin for durability. Ananasanam sells its products to big brands like Nike and Hugo Boss as well as smaller companies that make notepads, backpacks, handbags etc., while also working towards making Pinatex entirely plant-based in future.

Life Pack, a Colombian company, shreds pineapple crowns and blends them with recycled paper to make compostable plates that contain tiny seeds inside. The company also makes sandwich containers and coffee cup sleeves containing edible plant seeds like cilantro, amaranth, and strawberry. Despite the higher price point than plastic plates from big box stores, Life Pack has been able to capitalize on growing demand for sustainable packaging which has increased by 40% since the company started; its products are now sold in three large supermarket chains domestically as well as handling dozens of orders through its website each week with a handful of customers in the U.S.

Fua Biotech, a company in Vietnam, uses pineapple peels and cores to make natural soaps and detergents that are safer for the planet. The process involves fermentation of waste fruit with sugar water to release enzymes that can fight germs by breaking them apart from inside.