Turning Banana Waste into fashion

As part of the Dole Promise towards zero fruit loss and working towards carbon neutrality, Dole has collaborated with Musa Fabric, a Philippines-based fashion brand that repurposes the waste created by banana plants pseudo-stems by weaving them into traditional, vibrant garments.

The subsequent yarn that is extracted from the waste is sent to the Davao Penal Colony, where more than a hundred of women deprived of liberty weave the yarn into fabric.

The woven fabric is sold to Musa Fabric that develops into fashion products – garments and accessories with part of their proceeds going to indigenous communities.

The Dole – Musa Fabric collaboration achieves a more circular and sustainable process with the banana fibre – the fibre of purpose – for the maker, the consumer, and the ultimate producer, our planet.

Limiting to 4.4 million pieces (200.000 metric tonnes) of banana stem reaching landfills, can reduce approximately 258.720 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions and instead create fashion products.

Musa Fabric 's fashion products developed with banana waste fibre was widely appreciated at the New York fashion week.

Learn more; Dole Partners with Musa Fabric