Innovative materials - H&M uses Bananatex in its collection of sustainable trainers Good News
Good News X H&M sneaker, with Bananatex upper, unveiled on March 22, 2021 (©H&M)
The Swedish brand unveiled three days ago a collection with a reduced environmental footprint, Good News X H&M, featuring a banana fiber fabric, developed by Qwstion.
By Ludmilla Intravaia
After the use of Desserto cactus alter-leather, on March 18 (more info in this Boudoir Numérique article), H&M is setting its sights on a fabric made from banana fibers, Bananatex, in its Good News X H&M trainers collection with a reduced environmental footprint, unveiled three days ago, in a press release, published on its official website.
The Swedish brand has collaborated with the English sustainable sneaker brand Good News to deliver a unisex collection of seven shoes, made with organic and recycled cotton, recycled rubber, renewable cellulose fibers Lyocell Tencel, grape alter-leather Vegea and Bananatex. For example, the upper of the black shoe below is made from banana plants fibers (images below : ©H&M).
Check out the Good News X H&M collection below (images : ©H&M).
Three kids trainers are also available (images : ©H&M).
A pair of sliders is also part of the collection.
(©H&M)
Bananatex is an alternative material to petro-sourced synthetics, made from the banana herbaceous plant. More exactly, with a specific species of banana plant, called the abacá, from which a very strong natural fiber, manila hemp, is extracted from the leaves and stems. Growing abaca does not require pesticides and fertilizers (images below : ©Qwstion).
Developed by the Swiss brand of bags Qwstion, created in 2008, this biodegradable material is made from these fibers that are woven into a fabric, the result of three years of research by Qwstion, in collaboration with farmers in the Philippines , as well as spinning and weaving factories in Taiwan.
Bananatex is covered with a layer of beeswax to give it its flexibility and waterproof characteristics. To better understand what Bananatex is, watch the video below.
* The Good News X H&M collection will be for sale on H&M website and in selected stores from April 1, 2021. The kids collection will be available online only. Launch dates for other markets: Sweden, Norway and Finland (April 14, 2021), Denmark (April 14, 2021, online only), United States and Canada (April 15, 2021), Turkey (April 22, 2021).
More info on the Swedish brand's official website here.
* Good News website is here.
* Bananatex website is here. Qwstion's is there.
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