Types of clothing

In Tagalog, piña seda means pineapple silk and it has been used since well before the colonisation of the Philippines in the 16^th century. Piña seda is often described as starchy, sheer and lightweight, perfect for all occasions in tropical weather. Each leaf will produce a variety of fibre textures. Softer fibres are used for textiles while thicker ones, which comprise most of the leaf, for household items like table clothes, linens and floor mats and twine. The pineapple plant itself does not require much water to grow, flourishes year-round and does not require the use of chemicals of pesticides.

Unlike the machinated and chemical-intensive production of cotton, or the ethical implications of killing the silkworm, the production process of piña seda does not consume electricity or petrol because it is manually produced with natural resources that are on-site and immediately available to the weavers. This keeps the production size of the textile small and the scarcity of the textile high, which in turn benefits directly the communities that produce it.