Bringing Vietnamese Pineapple Fiber to the European Market

GWAND Sustainable Festival is the name of an exhibition held from September 2–4 in Lucerne, Switzerland. This annual event includes product showcases and group discussions on topics related to sustainability. The festival brings together brands, companies, and designers to display their products and share their journeys.

Representing Ecosoi, the company showcased raw pineapple leaf fiber and fashion products, such as handbags made from the fiber, to Swiss and international customers. They also participated in a group discussion on the topic of Bio Design, introducing the material and products made from Vietnam’s indigenous natural resources.

The pineapple leaf fiber products, including handbags, received a warm welcome for the story and purpose behind them: eco-friendliness, supporting livelihoods, developing local materials and workforce, creating positive social impacts, and fostering sustainable development.

This reminded me of a memorable photo from the “High-Quality Vietnamese Goods – Integration Standards”program. Last year, when the project “Developing Indigenous Resources with Happy Pineapple” from Happy Farm Cooperative (founded by Hữu Hạnh’s group in Nghệ An) won an award, we witnessed their dedication to adhering to international standards. The award we gave them was a grant to support building LocalGAP standards, a stepping stone for exporting within the GlobalGAP system at less than one-third of the cost and time required for full GlobalGAP certification.

However, since then, scheduling during the harvest season and the persistent impacts of lockdowns have delayed progress. It’s disheartening to think that lockdown periods could have been used for consulting and training cooperatives and agricultural companies like Hữu Hạnh’s in Nghệ An, or others in Bến Tre and Lâm Đồng. Yet, travel restrictions and gathering bans made it impossible.

I truly admire young entrepreneurs like Hữu Hạnh for their determination. They sought mentorship from Nguyễn Lâm Viên, who focuses on training young agro-entrepreneurs. He guided them toward organic farming and, after multiple tests of their processes and product quality, even distributed their products.

This brings to mind the inspiring dreams of young people in Đồng Tháp, Bến Tre, and other provinces, who aim to transform all by-products from rice, pangasius fish, and coconuts into export-grade primary goods. However, COVID-19 has disrupted everything. It’s heartbreaking to see that while markets in the EU, the US, and China have reopened and still need products from Vietnam, the country struggles to keep up. I deeply feel for young people like Hữu Hạnh, who continue to strive against the odds.