This Shirt Is Bananas—Creating A Fruity Alternative For Wasteful Fast Fashion
Textile production has recently been thrust into the spotlight because of its detrimental effects on our environment. However, it’s safe to say not everyone has expected bananas to be a potential saving grace in the fast-fashion crisis.
Danish brand Ganni has designed a tracksuit created out of banana waste. The innovative production technique was developed by Pyratex and is being launched under Ganni’s Future of the Fabrics initiative.
Once bananas are harvested, the tree dies. In order for it to regrow fruit, it would need to be heavily pruned, which in turn produces a large amount of waste.
Under this project, stalks from banana trees, which are mechanically processed and integrated into an organic cotton blend, are ready to be churned into the freshest fits. Blending the waste with cotton is an integral part of the process which makes the material ripe for use in knitting machines.
The lineup consists of a gray crop top, sweatpants, and a hoodie.
This material, called ‘Pyratex Element 2’, unfortunately costs eight times more than organic cotton. Ganni understands that the high cost would turn companies off from adopting the material. However, it is working on making it more affordable and accessible.
Ganni also notes that the launch of its new tracksuits isn’t meant to be viewed as a novel approach to fashion. Rather, they are meant as proof that there are alternatives to textiles and hope isn’t lost for the fashion industry, though we might still be a long way off from becoming sustainable.
Pyratex supplies textiles to brands such as Pepe Jeans, Philip Lim, and Fiorucci. Ganni will actually be the second brand to utilize banana waste, as Scotch & Soda released its own line using Pyratex Element 2 a few weeks ago.
According to Vogue Business, Ganni is working with 26 different new fabrics to reduce its emissions by 2027. As of right now, there is no set price on the clothes. However, once launched. they will be sold on Ganni’s global site.
[via Input Mag and Vogue Business, images via various sources]
