类似聚氨酯和PVC革的动物皮革替代品或许已经解决了时装业的动物虐待问题，但它们并非最环保的方案。而现在，一种类似皮革的新材料Pi?atex横空出世。这种用菠萝叶子做成的材料可能正是我们期待已久的全能环保皮革。

Pi?atex or "vegan leather" is the invention of Dr. Carmen Hijosa and her innovative materials company, Ananas Anam. While working in the Philippines as a consultant to the Product Development and Design Center of the Philippines in the '90s, she discovered the properties of pineapple leaf fibers and dedicated her life to creating sustainable alternatives to leather and petroleum-based textiles. After years of research, Ananas Anam has finally come up with what it believes is a viable alternative to animal leather. It recently showcased the versatility of Pi?atex during a presentation held at the Royal College of Art in London, where designers displayed various clothing items and accessories made exclusively from the revolutionary material.

Pi?atex，或者说“素皮革”，是卡门?伊卓莎博士及其材料创新公司Ananas Anam的发明。90年代，伊卓莎博士一直在菲律宾的产品研发和设计中心当顾问。那时，她注意到菠萝叶纤维的性能，并开始致力于创造可持续的皮革替代品和以石油为原料的织物。经过多年研究，Ananas Anam公司终于打造出自认为成功的动物皮革替代品。最近，该公司在伦敦皇家艺术学院向人们展示了Pi?atex的多功能性。设计师们展示了专用这种革命性材料制成的多种衣物和配件。

时尚新宠：菠萝叶做成的皮革

This new vegan leather is made from bonded fibers that are extracted from pineapple leaves on plantations by farmers before they are cut up and layered. These fibers then go through an industrial process that yields the innovative Pi?atex textile. The canvas-like materials can then be dyed, printed and treated to give it different thicknesses and types of texture, including leather. The production creates a byproduct of biomass which can be returned to the farmers to be used as fertilizer on their plantations. To produce one square meter of medium thickness Pi?atex, 480 pineapple leaves are required. That may seem like a lot, but it's only the leaves from 16 pineapples, leaves which are otherwise just left to rot in the fields after the pineapples are picked.

这种全新素皮革的原料是菠萝叶中萃取出来的黏合纤维。纤维萃取由种植园的农民们在将菠萝叶切碎并分层堆积前完成。接着，这些纤维需经过一系列工业处理，才能生产出革命性的Pi?atex。之后，这种类似帆布的材料可以被染色和印花，经过不同的处理来得到不同的厚度和包括皮革在内的各种质地。生产过程中出现的有机物副产品可以被农民回收利用，充当种植园的肥料。生产一平方米中等厚度的Pi?atex需要480片菠萝叶。可能这听起来很多，但其实16颗菠萝即可长出这么多叶子。何况这些叶子如果不拿来生产材料，在菠萝采摘完毕后，它们也只能留在地里腐烂而已。

Pi?atex is still in development, and currently includes a non-biodegradable protective top layer for durability, but Ananas Anam is looking into natural alternatives in the hopes of soon making the material fully bio-degradable. Dr. Hijosa admits that it will take some time before vegan leather becomes market ready, but brands like Puma and Camper have already created sample shoes out of Pi?atex, and designer Ally Capellino has turned into fashionable bags, and they all turned out quite well. As for how well items made of Pi?atex actually perform in real-life usage conditions, that remains to be seen.

Pi?atex仍处于研发阶段。目前人们正在尝试利用不可生物降解的保护层来延长它的使用寿命。不过Ananas Anam公司正在研究自然替代品，希望很快能让这种材料可完全生物降解。伊卓莎博士承认，素皮革距离上市仍需一段时间，不过彪马和露营者等品牌已经利用Pi?atex打造出了一些样品鞋，英国的箱包品牌Ally Capellino也已将Pi?atex制作成时尚箱包。这些产品的反响都很不错。至于Pi?atex的制品在现实使用中的表现如何，仍有待观察。

To continue her research and hopefully turn Pi?atex into a commercially-viable sustainable alternative to animal leather, Dr Hijosa is currently trying to secure more funding for Ananas Anam, of which she is the majority owner. She is also looking into other possible uses for Pi?atex, including anti-bacterial wound bandages, as the material would allow air to circulate to an injury, and insulation for homes.

为了继续进行研究并希望将Pi?atex变为商业上可行的、可持续的动物皮革替代品，伊卓莎博士正在为Ananas Anam公司筹集更多资金。她是公司的大股东。她仍在探索Pi?atex的其它潜在用途，包括制成抗菌创可贴（该材料的透气性很好）和房屋的绝缘材料。

Vocabulary

viable: 可行的；能成功的

biomass: 有机物；生物堆，生物燃料

insulation: 绝缘材料