The main ingredient in Piñatex is the long fibres of pineapple leaves. The global pineapple industry produces 40 million Kilograms of waste pineapple leaves each year. These wasted leaves are normally burned or left to rote.
The normally wasted leaves of 16 pineapple plants are used to create 1 square meter of Piñatex. The production process uses none of the harmful chemicals and processes that are used in the production of genuine leather which gets two thumbs up from environmental activists.
The new industry has created an additional income for pineapple farmers and the biomass leftover from the process is used as a fertilizer. The pineapple cellulose fibres are mixed with a petroleum-based resin to create Piñatex leather.