Nextevo announced the launch of its sustainable fibers and yarns made from pineapple leaves, a common agricultural waste from pineapple cultivation. Combining these Ready-to-Spin (RTS) fibers with other eco-fibers (e.g. organic cotton, lyocell, recycled polyester, etc.), Nextevo offers blended yarns for the textile industry across applications including denim apparel, sneakers, upholstery and bath towels.
Relieving Environmental Pollution and Driving Social Impact for Local Farmers
Southeast Asia is the world’s largest pineapple producer region with Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia amongst the top producers. Significant volumes of pineapple leaf waste generated is commonly burnt, discarded into landfills, or composted, resulting in harmful environmental impacts.
Instead, working with local farmers, Nextevo collects these pineapple leaves and turns them into value-added materials for the textile industry. Not only minimizing existing environmental problems in the process, but also supplementing income for farmers.
The joint venture in Thailand between Jinny Tantipipatpong, chairman of SAICO (world’s fourth largest pineapple cannery producer), and Nextevo creates a vertically integrated supply chain. This includes sourcing pineapple leaves, processing into RTS fibers and blended yarns for manufacturers, making premium consumer products for brands globally.
Extensive Network Across Southeast Asia for Pineapple Leaves and other Agricultural Waste Sources
The pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) production in Thailand results from a year-long journey from proof-of-concept to production. Trial production started in late September 2021 and the PALF production volume will scale-up by first quarter 2022.
In Indonesia, PALF sourcing has already begun with a farm cooperative, with plans to expand into processing coconut husk waste into sustainable materials by second quarter 2022.
Nextevo founder Harold Koh, who spent nine years as CEO of Great Giant Pineapple (world’s single largest pineapple plantation in Indonesia), has built an extensive network in the agricultural sector. Harold plans to expand to other types of agricultural waste in Southeast Asia to provide sustainable value-added solutions at scale. In the next three years, Nextevo aims to impact the lives of 5,000 farmers in Southeast Asia.
