We receive many messages and emails asking about the innovative materials with which we work. As part of our commitment to transparency we are happy to share our knowledge. The more people and brands that use these materials, the better it is for the planet. Easy.

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PIÑATEX® a.k.a "pineapple leaf material" 

If you've spotted our sparkly silver bags, then you've spotted Piñatex. It's an innovative natural textile made from pineapple leaf fibre. It's produced by a company called Ananas Anam, based in central London.

 

Here are answers to the most frequent questions we receive about Piñatex:

  • Anyone can buy the swatch card, but to purchase anything from 1 linear metre, you will need to be approved by the company. To become approved you need to fill in the contact form on the Piñatex website.
  • Minimum Order Quantity ("MOQ"): 1 linear metre per colour (1 lm = 1 m x 1.55 m)
  • Price: from 45€ / linear metre. 
  • Wear + tear: In our experience, with everyday use, Piñatex wears well. Over months we notice the corners buff back a little bit, but this happens with all sorts of materials - leather, canvas, plastic. As you can probably tell, we love our bags and therefore we treat them pretty well. So please note that we cannot vouch for really rough and tumble everyday use! 
  • Contact: When we first started with Piñatex, it took a long time to receive a reply as their material is in such high demand. Our advice is to persistent in contacting them and you will get through soon enough!

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AppleSkin™

Many people ask us about the difficult-to-find AppleSkin™ (a.k.a "apple leather") material with which we work.

Here is the production flow chart explaining how AppleSkin is made: 

FRUMAT is the name of the company that has created AppleSkin. Hannes Parth is the founder of Frumat but he's difficult to get a hold of. His email is: hannes.parth@frumat.it

Hannes has promised that AppleSkin's new website will be live soon - so keep an eye out and keep googling. In the mean time, please know that Hannes is busy and it will often take many attempts to get his attention. Our advice is to persist. The other person you can speak to if Hannes doesn't reply is Denise Bernini at Mabel SRL in Florence. Mabel is the company that physically manufactures the AppleSkin material. 
Denise Bernini - back office - berninid@mabelsynthetic.com
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Note that:

The price of AppleSkin ranges from 12 - 50 € per linear metre, depending on the finishing. It comes in a roll and the Minimum Order Quantity is 300 linear metres. Smaller minimums of 150 linear metres are available however they carry a +30% surcharge.

Width is 140 cm and thickness is approximately 1 mm. Further technical specifications for the material we use (called "RIND APPLE") is visible here. 

Finally - we do sell from our own stock of black and burgundy AppleSkin. We sell in 10 metre lengths. If you would like more information, please email us at: hello@luxtralondon.com. 

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FRUITLEATHER ROTTERDAM a.k.a "mango leather"

Our latest collection is made from an embossed mango "leather" - a vegan and highly sustainable material that is made in the Netherlands from discarded mangoes.

We purchase the material from a company called Fruit Leather Rotterdam. The founders Hugo and Koen hand make every sheet, transforming discarded fruit into durable, leather-like material. The guys put it best, saying: 

"The two worlds of fruit and leather are combined where the waste of the fruit industry is used to radically change the world of the polluting leather industry."
 
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This second video (in Dutch) shows more of the process... 
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