In Kenya, an innovative initiative is leveraging pineapple waste, transforming it into sustainable materials for the fashion industry. Pineapple farmer James Kinuthia shared, "In the past we would burn or throw away or replant pineapple suckers.” He now sells these to Pine Kazi, a company at the forefront of this eco-friendly endeavor, at 15 Kenya shillings each. This not only benefits the farmers financially but also generates employment opportunities in the processing of pineapple leaves into fiber. This fiber is then processed further to create textiles.
The fashion sector's shift towards sustainability has spotlighted materials like pineapple fiber, which, despite being labor-intensive, presents an eco-friendly alternative to conventional textiles. Pine Kazi’s CEO, Olivia Awuor, highlighted the environmental impact, "Annually about 766 million tonnes of post-harvest pineapple leaves are usually produced...for every 1,000 tonnes of waste we collect, we reduce carbon and methane emissions by 0.28 tonnes."
Source: africanews.com