DIVE DEEPER:

• Qwstion reports that it chose to create Bananatex from the Abacá banana plants because they aren’t grown in a monocultural agricultural environment, regenerate fully during their annual growing cycle and require no water or pesticides. The plant's hardy qualities have helped it to contribute to reforestation in a region previously eroded from palm plantations.

• According to the UN’s Global Land Outlook report, a third of the world's land is severely degraded and fertile soil is being lost at a rate of 24 billion tonnes a year, making moves into regenerative farming essential across industries.

• Due to its rapid growth cycle, Bananatex reports that in one year, a single banana tree can compensate for the CO2 emissions of production and transport of more than 10 bags.

• The process to create the fibre involves cutting the stalks of the Abacá plant, extracting the fibres before turning them into Paper and then spinning fine strips of it into yarns, weaving into fabric, and coating with a natural beeswax finish and Ruco-Dry Eco Plus water-repellent treatment. This chemical-free process ensures that Bananatex stays fully compostable.

• The Bananatex material is then yarn dyed to achieve Qwstion’s All Black colourway, a process that uses less water than standard roll dying. The dyeing process is certified by Oeko-Tex Standard 100. To create the brands Natural White colourway, the fibre is left undyed, leaving the final product to reflect the natural fibre colour.

• In order to make Bananatex waterproof, an all-natural beeswax coating is applied in order to maintain the material’s biodegradability.