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THE PINEAPPLE PLANT has been good to us: once a symbol of luxury, it has been made into a traditional textile for use in formalwear, and is widely consumed as food. What if we tell you you can use it for lighting, casual clothing, and furnishing?
This was the point of Hiblatech, a new company specializing in fibers sourced from pineapple leaves, usually agricultural waste (most everybody else just needs the fruit). The leaves come from different species of pineapple, not the Red Spanish cultivar used for the finer piña textile. It is processed into a textile resembling felt, which could be processed further into a polyester blend resembling linen.
Hiblatech’s partner in this is Chuck Lazaro of Asia Textile Mills, a pioneer in natural fiber processing with over 40 years of experience in the industry. Mr. Lazaro also assisted in the creation of Piñatex, a pineapple-derived leather alternative by Carmen Hijosa from Spain.
Now the Philippine raw materials (pineapple leaves from Philippine farms) are going to be used by a Filipino-owned company. “That’s part of the mission,” said Hiblatech co-founder Tina Sabarre. According to her, 80% of the process behind Piñatex is done here, so, “When I heard that I said, ‘Why don’t we sell it, as a Filipino company?’”
The felt and fibers were given to designers who made various objects like toys, clothing, furniture, and lamps out of them. These were shown at an exhibit in Makati on Jan. 22. Krete Manila, for example, made a lamp with a concrete base reinforced with Hiblatech fiber and paper, resulting in concrete that was lighter and stronger. Edward Sibunga used the felt to make a sound panel-speaker, while Dee Javier made an artwork using the textile for embroidery — Ms. Javier works as a designer for the global Filipino-owned lingerie and loungewear brand Natori, and hinted at the textile making an appearance for the brand’s Spring-Summer 2026 collection. Collectively, the exhibit opens up various possibilities for the fiber to be used.
Ms. Sabarre, herself wearing a blouse made of pineapple fiber (the unwoven felt was woven in the aforementioned polyester blend, then worked on by model-designer Jo Ann Bitagcol) talked about the tests that the fabric has undergone, including for flammability, water resistance, and for continuous use (which included a friction test). While the textile passed standards for home use, there are opportunities to strengthen it further for hotel and restaurant use (which includes giving it a coating, currently being developed with a German company).
We pointed out the presence of Lakat, a brand of sneakers by Mike and Banj Claparols that uses pineapple fibers as well. Ms. Sabarre said that while the couple uses cotton in their blend (while Hiblatech uses polyester), they use the unwoven version — the same one Hiblafelt is made of — in their shoe inners. “We’re all here to promote Philippine fibers. It’s not about competition, etc.”
Due to the possible multiple uses of Hiblatech, Ms. Sabarre plans to hold workshops to teach more people in other industries about where else they can use the textile. She plans to upscale production with fundraisers to build another manufacturing facility. “We’re increasing the relevance of pineapple fibers across many other categories,” she said.
Contact Hiblatech through https://www.hiblatech.com/ for collaboration opportunities. — Joseph L. Garcia
