Can you really wear bananas?

“You can put them in a salad,” instructed the famous 1944 calypso-inspired jingle for Chiquita Bananas. “You can put them in a pie. Any way you want to eat them. It’s impossible to beat them.” But what about wear them? Swiss bag maker QWSTION has an answer: Bananatex.

According to QWSTION, “Bananatex is the world’s first durable, technical fabric made purely from the naturally grown Abacá banana plants, which are self-sufficient, requiring no pesticides, fertilizer or extra water.” Bananatex is designed for circularity, having earned the Cradle to Cradle certification. It’s 100% biodegradable. Since its launch in October 2018 Bananatex has won a variety of international sustainability and design awards, including the Green Product Award 2019, the Design Prize Switzerland Award 2019/20, and the German Sustainability Award Design 2021.

But QWSTION didn’t arrive at this recognition overnight. Founded in 2008, the Swiss bag brand knew from the beginning they wanted to make truly sustainable products, but to do so, they had to make a choice. Synthetic fibres like nylon and polyester could be “vegan-friendly” (e.g. made without animal products) and cheaper and more durable than most organic fibres, but there is no true solution to these fibres’ end of life. On the other hand, cotton and other natural fibres break down naturally over time, but cultivation of these fibres often involves the heavy use of fertilisers, pesticides, and water. Certified organic cotton was one solution, but the material works better on soft t-shirts than sturdy backpacks. And, during a fabric mill visit in Asia, they practically slipped on a new solution: Musa textilis – Abacá banana plants.

In a sense, QWSTION rediscovered what the locals had known all along. In the Philippine highlands, Abacá has been cultivated for centuries in nearly permaculture conditions – as opposed to farmed monocultures – which means it requires no additional inputs. It is used in clothes, lace, shawls, and hats. Until the proliferation of nylon in the 20th century its salt-resistance made it the perfect material for ropes in shipping. But QWSTION brought their technical, design, and industry knowledge to innovating the production process. They turn the fibres into a kind of paper before passing them off to Taiwanese yarn specialists who weave this paper into yarn for fabric making. The woven fabric can then be manufactured according to a number of different uses, like making bags, or shoe uppers, or upholstery.

Thankfully, QWSTION is not keeping the fabric or the process to themselves. QWSTION has been savvy about creating a number of partnerships to help amplify their impact, including with Stella McCartney for a reissue of their Logo tote bag, Balenciaga for a new edition of their iconic Triple S Sneaker, and shoemakers Good News to craft sneakers for H&M. They’ve also partnered with a number of Swiss companies like Lehni (chairs), Mover (bags) and digital minimalists Punkt, with whom they’ve designed a biodegradable phone case.

Bananatex is not the first fruit-based fibre to hit the market. Among the growing abundance of fibres made from upcycled vegetable matter there’s also Piñatex (made from waste pineapple leaves) Orange Fiber (orange peels), Uppeal (apple skins), Vegea (grapes) and Fruitleather (mangos). Many focus on using waste from existing fruit juice and wine industries that would otherwise go, well, to waste. When you consider other alternative natural fibres like Desserto (prickly pear cactus) as well as proprietary materials made from stinging nettle, lotus flower, coffee grounds and mycelium (just one of the many wonderful uses of mushrooms) it seems we’re in the midst of a natural textile revolution. One that, when it comes to sustainability, may be “impossible to beat”.

Open Link: https://www.bananatex.info/