Nelson Yang’s company, Farm to Material, is giving new life to banana plants by turning their pseudostems into fibres that can be used in socks, blended fabrics, and even vegan leather. Based in Changhua, Taiwan’s central rural belt, the company is working to position banana fibre as a sustainable option for the global textile market, with the hope of one day supplying major sneaker brands.

Yang recalled that back in 2008, European sneaker companies were looking for ways to grow both food and raw materials on the same land. “That idea has guided us ever since. We focus only on materials that come from food or from leftovers in agriculture and the food industry. Our role is to turn those leftovers into usable resources.”

The company extracts the fibres from the banana plant’s pseudostem, which is usually discarded after harvest. The stem is crushed, dried, and processed to create strong fibres suitable for textiles. Some of these fibres are spun into yarn, which can be blended with cotton for socks, while others are developed into vegan leather, offering a versatile range of applications.

According to Charlotte Chiang, director of innovation and sustainable design at the Taiwan Textile Federation, banana fibre holds strong potential. “It actually performs better than regular cotton when it comes to water use, absorbency, and supply stability, making it a highly promising material for the future,” she explained.