From waste to garments: PH company uses pineapple fibers in making military uniforms

A Philippine clothing company is helping local farmers and our men and women in uniform through an unlikely, widely available source that is considered an agricultural waste: pineapple leaves.

As part of the country's efforts to create innovations aimed at achieving zero-waste when it comes to agricultural products, a local clothing brand is using pineapple fibers to manufacture camouflage uniforms for the Philippines' armed services.

Charmagne Diaz, founder and CEO of CKDiaz Worldwide Enterprise, told GMA News Online that her company’s camouflage military uniforms are compliant with Republic Act 9242, or the Philippine Tropical Fiber Law, which requires government uniforms to be composed of at least five percent natural fibers.

These natural fibers could be derived from sources that are plentiful within the archipelago: abaca, banana, pineapple, and Philippine silk.

Diaz said the production of the uniforms not only minimizes agricultural waste but also provides farmers with additional income.

“From waste, meron pa siyang pwedeng pag gamitan. Hindi lang yung basta itatapon lang (the pineapple leaves can be used for something else and are not just thrown away),” Diaz said.

“So, it's another way of helping the farmers to have an extra income by doing something about the waste,” she added.

Diaz shared they source most of the pineapple leaves from farms and plantations in Mindanao.

The development of the camouflage military uniforms started in 2024 in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI).

The results of their collaboration, Philippine Army and Philippine Air Force battle dress uniforms (BDUs) in their distinctive digital camouflage patterns, were on display at the 2026 National Textile Convention at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

“We've been doing military uniforms. So I think it's really time since ngayon may technology na kaya na natin gawin. Hindi katulad dati, before, na yung technology hindi pa rin ka-advance,” Diaz said.

(We've been doing military uniforms. So I think it's really time since now we have the technology to do it. Unlike before, when the technology wasn't as advanced.)

Started in 2008, CKDiaz supplies uniforms to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other government agencies.

Showcasing uniforms that comprise seven percent of pineapple fibers, Diaz shared these are the first camouflage military uniforms with this development.

“It's good na pineapple yung i-blend niya because it has antibacterial property,” Diaz explained. “The uniform of the military should be durable and comfortable.”

She believes local manufacturers should be given a chance to prove the quality of their products.

“I believe (Filipinos) should give us a chance. They should give us, local manufacturers, a good fight,” Diaz said.

According to DOST-PTRI, the country exported 582,536 tons of pineapple in 2022.

In 2023, over 2.9 million metric tons of pineapple were produced in the country. —RF, GMA Integrated News