Piñatex: Vegan and Sustainable Alternative to Animal Leather
Monday, July 01, 2019
Image Credit: Piñatex [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Did
you know that the leather industry is one of the primary contributors to our
ever growing pollution problem? Leather tanning – which is the process of
converting animal skin into leather – involves the use of harmful chemical
agents. The most commonly used leather tanning agent is chromium which can be toxic to human at high exposure over a long
period of time. Environmental issues also arise as chromium waste (which comes
from leather tanning facilities) contaminates our water, thus endangering
marine lives. Another cruel side of the leather industry lies in the unethical
killing of animals (e.g. crocodiles, ostriches, cows, etc.) for their skin in
order to meet the growing demand for leather products. This situation led to
the creation of synthetic leather that is normally made from PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) – a type of
plastic that does not decompose so it just ends up in the landfill.
Dr.
Carmen Hijosa saw the need to create a more sustainable alternative to leather
that has less impact to the environment and is cruelty-free (both to animals
and workers). She had a light-bulb moment while working as a consultant in the
Philippines and saw how locals use piña
(pineapple leaf fibers) to create Barong Tagalog – the national dress of the Philippines. After seven years of research and development
through a PhD at the Royal College of Art in London, Piñatex was born under Dr. Hijosa’s company Ananas Anam.
Piñatex
is a non-woven plant-based textile that is derived from pineapple leaf fibers (sourced
from the Philippines) which can be used as an alternative to leather that is made
from animal skin. The raw material itself is sustainably sourced from discarded
pineapple leaves which farmers normally just throw away. The fibers extracted
from the pineapple leaves undergo a certain process until they become a
non-woven textile with a unique leather-like appearance. The resulting textile
is lightweight, breathable, flexible yet very durable, which makes it an ideal
material for making shoes, bags, wallets, clothes and upholstery (e.g. sofa,
car seat). Piñatex also comes in variety of colors and finishes (e.g. gold and
silver metallic finishes) which give fashion designers more options when it
comes to their product designs.
Piñatex
is 100% vegan. In fact, Piñatex is the first fabric to become PETA-approved for being vegan and cruelty-free. In recent years, more and more fashion brands
are using Piñatex to create eco-friendly and animal-friendly clothing and
accessories.
Here
are some of the products that are made with Piñatex.
Bourgeois Boheme: London-based vegan footwear brand using Piñatex
Maniwala: Plant-based, cruelty-free bags made from Piñatex
Altiir: Metallic biker jackets using Piñatex
At
the moment, Piñatex is not yet 100% biodegradable since it’s still using
petroleum-based resin for coating the textile. Don’t worry though as the
company is working hard to eventually find a way to replace petroleum-based
resin from Piñatex. Instead of using PVC
(a petroleum-based plastic often used in synthetic leather), Piñatex uses PLA (Polylactic acid) which is a
bioplastic that is derived from renewable sources (e.g. cassava). Now, you
might ask, is PLA biodegradable? The answer is “it depends on the temperature
of the area where it is being decomposed”. PLA degrades better at 58 degrees
Celsius which means that it is more suitable to be decomposed in an industrial
composting (where temperature can be controlled) than in a landfill where the
ambient temperature is only around 25 Celsius.
Even
though Piñatex is not completely biodegradable, I believe that the company’s
goal to not use any by-product of animals is already a big step against
animal-cruelty in traditional leather making. I’m looking forward that more
textile manufacturers will follow the footsteps of Piñatex towards the creation
of leather alternatives that are kind to our environment, to the animals and to
the people who are making them J
P.S.
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