Bananas to fish scales: Fashion’s hunt for eco-materials

Bananas to fish scales: Fashion’s hunt for eco-materials

Sneakers made from banana or pineapple leaves, dresses from nettles or fish scales-the search for sustainable materials has taken the fashion industry to some wild places. Experts warn these new textiles are not a quick fix for fashion’s enormous problems with over-consumption and waste, but may be a necessary step in developing cleaner technologies. “You could possibly eat the final product,” said Hannes Schoenegger, co-founder of Bananatex, which uses leaves from banana trees in the Philippines to make bags, T-shirts and a line of shoes for H&M that sold out within two hours.

He was speaking at the Premiere Vision Paris conference, where industry professionals gather to find out which fabrics will dominate coming seasons. “We only harvest the sides of the plants, and they’re already growing in the forest, so no chemicals, pesticides or even water are used,” Schoenegger added. He was among multiple stalls presenting new bio-sourced materials. Brazil-based Nova Kaeru offered leather made from the discarded scales of the giant pirarucu fish and another from the tropical “elephant ear” plant. Nearby, Ananas Anam showed off some Nike shoes made from waste pineapple leaves.

Nettles are in

These textiles can be relatively niche, but some companies are determined to bring them