Jinali Mody: Crafting leather from leaves

Once a banana plant fruits, its stem must be cut down for a new plant to grow. Globally, this generates over 100 million tonnes of crop waste each year, according to one study in the journal Molecules. Much of it is discarded in fields, where it decomposes and releases methane, a greenhouse gas over 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide over short periods. 

For entrepreneur Jinali Mody, those discarded stems could help the fashion sector become more sustainable. In 2023 she founded Banofi Leather, a startup that turns banana waste into a leather substitute used in everything from purses to jackets. What began as small-scale experiments in a Kolkata lab has now grown into a full-fledged company in talks to supply major fashion houses.  

“Banofi’s mission is to create materials that heal the planet,” says Mody. 

See Jinali Mody’s profile