Carmen Hijosa, Founder and Chief Creative and Innovation Officer of Ananas Anam Ltd, at the Innovators Club of Girbau LAB

We closed November with a new session of the Innovators Club at Girbau LAB, featuring Carmen Hijosa as a guest speaker. Founder and Chief Creative and Innovation Officer of Ananas Anam Ltd, Carmen is an entrepreneur with a long-standing career in the textile industry, who has successfully connected people, nature, and business models to create an innovative natural fabric made from pineapple leaf fibers.

We had been looking forward to hosting Carmen at our Club for a while. At Girbau LAB, we closely follow innovations in the textile sector because they have a direct impact on laundry machinery and services as well as fabric care. The case of Ananas Anam is particularly fascinating for several reasons:

1. Pioneering sustainable alternatives: Carmen developed a biological and sustainable alternative to leather, combining her deep industry knowledge with a strong commitment to positive impact.
2. Social and environmental innovation: The process of extracting natural fibers from pineapple leaves not only enabled the development of materials like Piñatex and Piñayarn but also stands as an example of social innovation, with sensitivity and respect for both people and the planet.
3. Agricultural waste valorization: This project transforms agricultural waste (pineapple leaves) into high-value materials. This not only provides economic returns to local farming communities but also prevents the burning or degradation of these residues, helping reduce emissions associated with pineapple farming.
4. A comprehensive approach to the value chain: Ananas Anam takes a global approach to the textile value chain, giving visibility and dignity to everyone involved in the process. By doing so, it expands the range of bio-based materials and encourages more responsible consumer choices.

Carmen’s pioneering vision has allowed Ananas Anam to enter the market through renowned commercial brands, raising awareness of the need for sustainable alternatives to toxic materials and processes.

We are grateful for this inspiring presentation, which gave us a closer look at a transformative initiative focused on developing plant-based natural materials. These are materials that we in Girbau LAB, and within the laundry sector, will need to understand, adapt to, and learn how to process.