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About Us

FIBandCO was born in the French Caribbean out of the observation that an alternative of wood was necessary

Every year, 32 million acres of natural forest disappear (34 soccer fields per minute)

WHILE

24 million acres of banana trees are available globally and fully renewable twice a year.

Banana trunk veneer was born after years of R&D, starting from “garage engineering” to the creation of FIBandCO that developed a patented technology in the core of a socially responsible supply chain.

Man sanding

Why the banana trunk and how?

  • To use a new beautiful “species” for the design world. Because it is a giant grass and not a tree – less deforestation.
  • Banana plants are rapidly renewable; they grow to full size every 9 months. Naturally, once bananas have been harvested the mother trunk decomposes as agricultural waste.
  • To make a Green Blade® veneer we buy the unwanted trunks from the banana farmers. The next generation can then grow, and this process continues for many cycles.
Animation of Banana Trees

Why is it more renewable and responsible?

Photovoltaic panels to produce all of our energy
Equipe
factory 3

🌱  It creates synergies between the banana fruit growing and the valorization of the banana trunk fiber.

🌱 It is agricultural waste that is bought to the farmers providing them extra incomes. FibandCo connect the agricultural world with the design world while preserving our forest but still offers a detailed exotic esthetic in a sustainable way at an acceptable price for the market.

🌱 Our factory with solar panels that provide the majority of the energy it needs is located in the middle of the banana farms to reduce carbon footprint and process trunks directly from the field to the factory.

🌱 No water is used in the manufacturing of Green Blade®. No glue is used in the manufacturing of Green Blade®.  It is 100% natural and recycled.

🌱  It is a suitable solution for people whose sustainability is in the core of its concerns and strategy.  Green Blade® is a good way to contribute to make our planet green again.

🌱 Very log carbon foot print, our range allows you to gain LEED credits for your project.  Green Blade® is the most sustainable natural exotic vener on the market and is produced implementing a strong CSR strategy.

Harvesting time of trees for natural wood veneer production:
Banana tree – 9 months
Bamboo – 5 years
Eucalyptus – 15 years

Beech – 40 years
Teck- 70 years
Oak – 80 years

wood vs banana

Awards

Benefits

Philippe Starck (Designer of the Restaurant ZA, Paris)

Why is it more renewable and responsible?

  • Contribute to recycle an agricultural waste
  • Limit and reduce the use of exotic wood essence
  • Limit the use of chemicals and carbon footprint for the design purpose
  • Contribute to the diversification of the exports of Martinique and developing countries

Green Blade® and the environment

Fibandco takes great pride in offering sustainable, high-performance products. All Green Blade® products use our plant based veneer from recycled banana plant trunks. Fibandco recycle the trunk (or stem) of the plant once the fruit has been harvested. After bearing fruit, the banana plant naturally dies, for a new plant to grow from the bulb. Hence Fibandco give a second life to a by-product of banana farming.

No water is used in the manufacturing of Green Blade®, and the Fibandco factory produces the energy it uses thorough solar photovoltaic panels.

There are three potential categories in which Green Blade could contribute positively to LEED credits: Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental quality, and Conception & Innovation.

All panels used to make Green Blade® products are FSC certified. The Forest Stewardship Council is an international not for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established in 1993 to promote responsible management of the world’s forests.

fire-rating icon

All panels used to produce Green Blade products can be fire rated upon request. EN 13501-1 B-s2-d0 / M1

Acoustic Performance Fibandco offer a wide range of acoustic solutions, each with their own acoustic performance. All of the green Blade acoustic solutions have been professionally tested in a European laboratory for acoustics. Solutions possess an NRC value ranging from 60 – 90%*.

Certifications

Green Blade
Certifications Sheet

Corporate Social Responsibility

Bananas on a pallet


Here at FIBandCO, we prioritize working with
small to medium-sized farmers and local workers by bringing them the tools to grow responsibly.

We are currently involved in opening new factories with our international partners that share our vision and value. Together we implement sustainable development practices that improve our overall quality of life.

Vision and Values

We consider that this untapped sector can provide a better future for those who work on the farms. That is why we bring them long terms skills with the knowledge of our technology. We are ensuring a way that will beneficiate them in a more responsible, diverse and dynamic sector developed by the valorization of the banana fiber.

Our banana farms in Martinique are among the cleanest banana farms in the world since Martinique is a European Territory, we implement the most advanced practices regarding the use of pesticides and fertilizers. We carefully select our banana trunk origin as well as the banana farms, thus ensuring a positive outcome.

Red Tractors

CSR strategy and indicators

Factory assembly

Because our industry is quite unique we had to develop our own Corporate Social Responsibility in order to insure a sustainable development for the valorization of banana fiber.

Our monitoring tools help us to oversee our partners in different countries, with a specific emphasis on the International Labor Organization statements from the UN. We implement a due diligence process of any stakeholders that take part in our chain insisting on a great work environment and livable wages in the banana farms.

We encourage our partners to implement similar working conditions like the one we have in Martinique. We also want to empower the workers involved in the production of Green Blade with a better wage than the minimum average.

Our team and network provide specific support to our partners in banana producing countries. We include staff that is specialized in sustainable development and project management in developed countries.

letsgoteam

We monitor transversal indicators through our value chain such as:

  • Number of exotic trees saved
  • Number of partners that implement our sustainable competitiveness indicators
  • Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of product out of any production unit and carbon footprints measurement of the banana fiber product
  • Number of workers trained on the banana fiber process and technology
  • Number of banana farmers compensated for their banana trunk waste
  • Number of cooperation agreement with local universities to develop local know how and empowerment to go further with the banana fiber valorization

CONTACT

Feel free to contact us for any information or interest you might have, our team will be happy to help you.

FIBandCO
Habitation Rivière La Manche
97224, Ducos, Martinique (FWI)
Tel: +596 (0) 596 75 45 72
 

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