Banana fiber: a green industry that is saving the environment

 A fabric made out from banana fiber could well be next green apparel of the future.

The fabric, say, researchers, can be cheaper than cotton and linen if produced on a mass scale. The production of banana in India is about 27.01 million tons from an area of 0.765 million ha. It provides delicious foods and good quality textile fibre. In most cases, after harvesting of the fruits in banana plantations, the stems are wasted and billion tons of stems and leaves are thrown away annually. Such waste provides obtainable sources of fibres, which leads to the reduction of other natural and synthetic fibres’ production that requires extra energy, fertilizer and chemical.

Considering the pollution aspect of synthetic fibre, there is a need to search for non-conventional renewable resource for textile to give an effective solution. Banana fibres are good absorbent, highly breathable, quickly dry with high tensile strength, biodegradable and have no negative effect on the environment.

Utilization of banana fibre as cottage industry may be explored for income generation by rural women. Trainings were conducted for extraction of banana fibre and preparation of decorative items. Significant difference was found between pre and post-test which was carried out among 25 rural women of Romai area of Dibrugarh District. The ultimate goal of this endeavour was to upgrade the knowledge content about extraction of banana fibre, create awareness and full utilization of banana plants.

 Banana fiber eco-friendly applications

Green Banana Paper is sustainably manufacturing world-class vegan products from agricultural banana waste. Banana fibre paper products include banana paper wallets, custom business cards, greeting cards, artist paper, instant food packaging, etc

• Banana plants are 90% water and the fibers are naturally water-resistant
• Banana paper is 300 times stronger than normal wood pulp paper.
• Banana paper is fire-resistant and retains its integrity even when wet and has fire-resistant qualities.

Eco-friendly banana sanitary pads in India

• Biodegradable and can degrade within 6 months- 1200x faster than plastic pads
• Made from banana fibre, no gels, chemicals or synthetic fibres to prevent itching and rashes.

Source: researchgate.net, waterproof pads, Saathi pads.