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Manufacturing startup Green Banana Paper, which makes wallets out of recycled banana fibers, will be launching a new, slim version of its flagship accessory.
Based in a remote island in the Western Pacific region of Micronesia, the company has launched a crowdfunding campaign for its upcoming slim wallet.
The wallet is forged from sustainable sources, using recycled post-harvest banana trees.
Material
Banana fibers are in the bast family, along with hemp, jute, and sisal.
Founder Matt Simpson told PBN: “We like to call our material ‘banana leather’, because it is so strong and beautiful like leather, but without the cruelty!
“It’s a tough, tear-resistant mat of fibers forged into thick sheets of paper. It’s not as strong as leather as it is much thinner, but it is suitable for many purposes and applications for our daily lives.
“We are confident that the eco-textile industry can replace the need for animal-based textiles.”
Startup
Based in Kosrae, Micronesia, the startup is one of the largest private sector companies on the island.
The brand has created jobs and sustainable exports for the local economy, with more than 75 farmers earning extra income from banana trees that would otherwise have gone to waste.
Green Banana Paper buys agricultural waste from over 100 local farmers, Simpson told PBN.
As the founder and the creative force behind the startup, he also trained a team of 25 artisans.
Wallets
Sustainable, ethical, and vegan, Green Banana Paper’s original wallets are designed in three styles: Men’s, Women’s, and Travel.
The new slim wallet design is addressing the feedback the company got from its first generation wallets, and it created a thinner alternative to a thick leather bifold wallet.
It has three pockets, one cash slot, and one ID window, and has a maximum capacity of one ID, six cards, and 12 bills.
You can support the Kickstarter campaign here
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