Piñatex, the Spanish pineapple skin with which Nike and Chanel manufacture
Carmen knew from a child that Salas, the Asturian people where she grew up, was small.It was a restless breeding at a time when girls were educated so that they did not have many concerns and there was drowning.At 19 she left for Au Pair to Ireland and she no longer returned.She is still, 50 years later, in Dublin, from where she manages a leading company that has revolutionized the textile market with a fabric made with pineapple fiber that is the same as leather.
Piñatex, his invention, was a finalist at the European Inventor Award 2021 (the inventor award in Europe), which were failed last week."We were won a Swedish group that develops a band that recharges batteries with sunlight, but I am very proud to be a finalist, it is the first time that a textile and fashion company is selected as a candidate for these awards," Carmen children tells Loc.
La candidatura a los premios del invento del año ha sido un espaldarazo para Ananas Anam, la empresa que Carmen fundó en 2013, con sede en Londres y en Barcelona. El crecimiento está siendo enorme y el trabajo, cuenta, se les acumula. La cartera de clientes, con firmas como Hugo Boss, Nike, Chanel, Ecoalf, H&M o los hoteles Hilton, para quienes ha vestido con su tejido una suite vegana en Londres, crece cada día.
"We plan to multiply by 10 our production next year," explains children in a jalonated conversation of words in English with an Irish accent."I carry many here," he laughs at the phone, "but I already want to return, I want to return to Europe, to Spain. I need sun and heat, return to my roots and be close to production, because I want to enhance the companyThere and set up a piñatex production factory to supply the European market. "
Carmen's Asturian roots, which has adopted children, the last name of her maternal grandmother, as a sign of identity, are still very present in her life."I like children, he is powerful, strong as my grandmother was, that De Castilla went to Asturias to look for life. She had four daughters and did not want her last name to get lost," she explains."In addition, Álvarez, my first last name, is less interesting."
The confinement caught him by returning from the Philippines and passed it in Salas, eight months without being able to return to Ireland that he took advantage of to meet his mother."It was very nice. He died after Christmas and spent a lot of time with her."Carmen, the oldest of four brothers, was the family rebel.Her father, who ran a watchmaking in the town, said that the girl was very bigpiece, "like the Rebecas of the Asturian mountains," says the businesswoman.At 19 she decided to leave Au Pair to see the world.
"I was a pioneer. I thought that if I learned English it would be independent and travel. My parents didn't understand it. My family is very traditional and they pressed me a lot to come back," but he didn't."When I went through Salas to see them in the town they told my father 'Ah, this is the embarked', as if he had emigrated to Argentina," she explains.
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In Dublin he worked in hospitals, waiter or taking care of children while studying at night at the School of Art (the National College of Art and Design).She took a degree in textile that she later completed with a master in London."I have always liked the arts and design. I have inherited it from my mother, who painted very well, and my father, who was a craftsman of the watches. As a little I did not play with dolls, I liked to get back with the piecesof watchmaking that my father had in the workshop, "he recalls.
The entrepreneurial spirit, on the other hand, comes from grandfather Marcos, who with 15 years emigrated to Havana.There he worked as a watchmaker until he bought the business and returned to his land, with money and several ideas in the head, including opening a private bank.
Her granddaughter inherited the entrepreneurial vein and ended up founding with her husband, a Frenchman whom she met harvesting in Cognac, a brand of leather objects that ended in the luxurious counter of Harrod's, Liberty or Harvey Nichols."We began to make wallets, bags and belts that I designed and sold in markets, but liked Chesneau, the firm that took my ex -husband's last name, grew and became a luxury brand. I still see my bags in my bags in thestreet".
Leather took him to the World Bank, which signed her as a consultant to advise companies from developing countries.In countries like Colombia, Honduras and the Philippines she saw the reality that was hidden behind the tanners, with workers (mostly women) employed in bad conditions and a very polluting production.She decided to change her life.She sold her part of her company to her husband, she separated from him and started from scratch.
In the Philippines he discovered the fiber of the pineapple and the work of the weavers.After several years of research, in 2013 he patented his fabric, a kind of felt identical to leather, which he called Piñatex.Annanas Anam works with about 200 cooperatives from the Philippines, Bangladesh and Costa Rica and are looking for new suppliers.Investors and fashion and decoration firms queue at their door.
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