Singapore's Nextevo unveils sustainable fibres from agricultural waste

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 are 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 minimising existing environmental problems in the process, but also supplementing income for farmers, the company said in a press release.

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 fibres and blended yarns for manufacturers, making premium consumer products for brands globally.

The pineapple leaf fibre (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, according to Nextevo.

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.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)