In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte is rocking a sweet new pair of kicks made from a pineapple-based leather alternative.
The shoes were gifted to President Duterte by Carmen Hijosa, the Spanish fashion designer behind Piñatex—a company processing decorticated pineapple fiber into plant-based leather.
As demand for the renewable leather grows, Hijosa hopes to expand manufacturing in the pineapple-producing provinces of the Philippines, namely Camarines Norte, South Cotabato, and Bukidnon. Equipment used to produce the pineapple fiber has already been introduced to farmers in these regions.