cloth from pineapples!

Following on from our exciting natural textile discoveries in the latest edition of The Green Parent magazine, in which we showed beautiful clothing made from nettles, hemp and bamboo, I have just learnt about a cloth made from the fibre of pineapple leaves. How cool is that!

Produced entirely from the leaves of the pineapple plant, Pina Cloth is gossamer thin yet strong enough to construct light, airy garments. It makes a fantastic animal-friendly alternative to silk, is fair trade and is still made using the age-old traditions that have been used to produce it for hundreds of years. Weaving the fibres from the plant's leaves is an age-old tradition which was recently revived in the past 20 years. History records suggest that Kalibo's Pina cloth was traded during the Pre-Hispanic times and reached as far as Greece and Egypt during it's heyday. At Boutique Ethique, Pina cloth produced by a fair trade family-run company in the Philippines features is used to make items for the Spring/Summer 09 Collection, like this beautiful blouse, £130 (pictured). The company employs 85 weavers and insists on maintaining the traditional techniques, such as manual extraction of fibre, and preserving the cultural heritage of the weaving industry.

For more info on natural fibres see issue 27 of The Green Parent magazine.