Farm to fabric: Banana fiber could shape Taiwan’s next textile wave

Entrepreneur Nelson Yang is drawing inspiration from Taiwan’s history to transform the humble banana plant into an unlikely sustainable textile.

Taiwan is now the world’s dominant producer of advanced semiconductors, but the yellow fruit, still widely grown on the island, was once a source of patriotic pride.

Yang’s Farm to Material, headquartered in the central Changhua rural belt, is turning banana fiber into textiles he hopes will one day supply global sneaker brands.

“Back in 2008, European (sneaker) brands told us that they were hoping to find a way for food and materials to be produced in parallel, meaning that food and materials are yielded from the same land,” he told Reuters.

“So we’ve been working based on that concept. What we’re doing now is ensuring that all our material sources come from food or leftovers from the agricultural or food industry. We then transform those leftovers into usable materials.”

Under Japanese colonial rule from 1895 to 1945, Taiwan was renowned for its fruit, especially pineapples and bananas. In the 1960s, the island branded itself the “banana kingdom” to boost exports — a title long since overtaken by the tech industry.

Yang’s company takes the middle section of the banana plant, known as the pseudostem, which is normally abandoned in the field after harvest, and then crushes and dries it to produce fibers that can be used to make clothing.

Some of the fibers are turned into yarn that can be blended with cotton for socks and can also be used to create vegan leather.

The business is still in its infancy, with no orders yet from apparel companies.

Similar sustainable material ventures are underway elsewhere. For example, Spinnova, a European fibre innovation company, is producing eco-fibers from wood or waste and partnering with brands such as Adidas and Bestseller. Meanwhile, lab-grown cotton startups, such as Galy, are exploring ways to reduce cotton’s environmental impact through controlled, less land-intensive methods. These developments suggest Taiwan’s banana fiber initiative is part of a wider shift in the fashion‑material landscape.

“Banana fiber actually performs better than regular cotton in terms of water consumption, absorbency and supply stability, making it highly promising for future applications,” said Charlotte Chiang, director of the innovation and sustainable design department at the Taiwan Textile Federation.

“Banana fiber could become a new highlight for Taiwan in the field of biomass fiber in the textiles industry.”

FashionNetwork.com with Reuters.