Pineapple woven fabric from waste

evelyn gomez

Summary
Final work

I was born and raised in the small Central American country of Costa Rica. Studied Industrial Engineering abroad in Monterrey, México in the university Tecnológico de Monterrey and went back to Costa Rica to start my career as a Project Manager; first in manufacturing industry, later banking and insurance. Parallel to this, I founded a clothing brand called Carmenta and had the opportunity to display my designs in San Jose Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and Nicaragua Fashion Week multiple times throughout the years. I am currently finishing my MBA, working as a General Manager for an insurance broker and competing for seed capital to start prototyping a manufacturing process for pineapple woven fabric.

I was born and raised in the small Central American country of Costa Rica. Studied Industri...

CollegeCentral Saint Martins
CourseMaster of Business Administration (MBA)
Graduation year2021

In Costa Rica there are more than 40 000 hectares planted with pineapple; it is the country that produces the most pineapple worldwide. However, the mismanagement of pineapple waste has generated a significant negative impact. Currently there is great interest on the part of the government and the pineapple industry to seek alternative uses for these wastes.

This study seeks to understand the pineapple production in Costa Rica and the waste it generates. The objective is to compare different products that can be made with the leaves left behind in the harvest, and to select the best option to create a business model. The alternative selected was woven fabrics; this project includes the steps necessary to produce the textile and a timeline of execution. It will be implemented in low-income rural regions where the plant is produced and little technical employment can be found, causing migration of professionals to larger cities. It has the potential of generating up to 28 000 jobs and generating savings to the pineapple producers of at least $50 000 (USD) yearly in waste management.