Banana Fiber

Textiles

Banana fiber harvested from the pseudostems and leaves of the plant has been used
for textiles in Asia since at least the 13th century. Both fruit-bearing and
fibrous varieties of the banana plant have been used.[108] In the Japanese system
Kijōka-bashōfu, leaves and shoots are cut from the plant periodically to ensure
softness. Harvested shoots are first boiled in lye to prepare fibers for yarn-
making. These banana shoots produce fibers of varying degrees of softness, yielding
yarns and textiles with differing qualities for specific uses. For example, the
outermost fibers of the shoots are the coarsest, and are suitable for tablecloths,
while the softest innermost fibers are desirable for kimono and kamishimo. This
traditional Japanese cloth-making process requires many steps, all performed by
hand.[109]

In India, a banana fiber separator machine has been developed, which takes the
agricultural waste of local banana harvests and extracts strands of the fiber.[110]
Paper
Main article: Banana paper

Banana fiber is used in the production of banana paper. Banana paper is made from
two different parts: the bark of the banana plant, mainly used for artistic
purposes, or from the fibers of the stem and non-usable fruits. The paper is either
hand-made or by industrial process.[111]