In Italy, sneaker brand ID.EIGHT has launched a new design using waste from fruits, including apples, grapes, and pineapples. More specifically, ID.EIGHT uses Piñatex, Vegea, and AppleSkin, emerging materials looking to provide eco-friendly alternatives for the fashion industry. Piñatex is a leather-like material made from waste leaves from the Philippines’ pineapple industry. Vegea, made from wine industry waste, and AppleSkin, a bioplastic made from apple peels and cores, are both produced in Italy. Lycra (spandex) and recycled materials are also used throughout the shoe’s uppers, soles, and laces. Yanko Design notes that about 40,000 tons of waste leaves are generated by the global pineapple industry, much of which is burnt. The leaves of just 16 pineapple plants can produce 1 square meter of Piñatex.

Source: Biofuels Digest