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Annually about 766 million tonnes of post-harvest pineapple leaves are usually produced and they are burnt or chemically decomposed. By collecting this waste, the company boasts that it reduces emissions of carbon and methane in a significant manner
Kenya is turning leftover pineapple leaves into footwear through an innovative process that will be a landmark in its stride for developing eco-friendly products.
A company called Pine Kazi is at the forefront of this venture. It buys suckers from pineapple growers at 15 Kenya shillings each (USD 0.092) for processing into footwear and other products. This has created additional income and employment for people as fiber is extracted from pineapple waste and further processed to make footwear and other products, which are labour-intensive. Pineapple fiber has been used for a long time. But the advent of other materials including synthetic ones replaced naturally produced products because of their price advantage. With the renewed focus on eco-friendly products, people have started realizing the use of such products which earlier used to be dumped as wastes.
Annually about 766 million tonnes of post-harvest pineapple leaves are usually produced and they are burnt or chemically decomposed. By collecting this waste, the company boasts that it reduces emissions of carbon and methane in a significant manner.
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Kenya imports thousands of tonnes of second-hand polyester clothing each year as it is cheap and readily available. This clothing, after its use, ends up in landfills and water bodies, heavily affecting the ecosystem. By switching over to natural fibers for cloth making, Kenya can effectively replace the heavy import of synthetic clothes which degrades its environment, experts feel. However, experts point out that the absence of proper research and development laboratories and inadequate machinery prevent production of the shoes and bags in large quantities. Pine Kazi is setting an ambitious pathway to continuously invest in this drive and market the products globally.
