Textile company Bananatex has created a lightweight jersey fabric that’s both biodegradable and sustainable by sourcing fibres from Abacá banana plant stalks.
The innovative fabric earned recognition in the material innovation category of Dezeen Awards 2023 and is the latest iteration of Bananatex’s plant-based fabric, which initially launched back in 2018.
Making the fabric involves extracting fibres from Abacá plant stalks, which are then processed into pulp and transformed into yarn via a paper-making technique in Taiwan. Following this, the yarn is knitted and assembled into the final product.
The fabric is Cradle to Cradle Certified Gold – no mean feat – and showcases impressive eco-friendly properties; it can be composted and biodegrades within 10 weeks in industrial composts and 16 weeks in marine water. Additionally, Bananatex is establishing a closed-loop system by reclaiming used fabric, reintegrating it into the pulping process, and potentially generating new paper and yarn. This circular production approach aligns with Bananatex’s focus on making maximum use of raw materials to conserve natural resources and addressing sustainability in textile manufacturing.
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