123. Fashion with a peel: How crop waste is making sustainable textiles and creating jobs

The Weekly Tradecast looks at how we can make sustainable fabrics and other materials recycled from agricultural waste with UN Trade and Development economist Henrique Pacini.

For every banana or pineapple we eat, much of the plant is discarded during harvesting or processing.

But this trash can be treasure. Transforming waste from bananas and pineapples into dresses and sneakers may seem farfetched but these eco-materials could help offset the environmental damage from fast fashion. 

Listen in to UN Trade and Development’s Henrique Pacini to find out how these innovative fibres not only promise to reduce plastic and other synthetics but are also creating new jobs and economic opportunities.