Development of Banana Nonwoven Fabric for Eco-friendly Packaging Applications of Rural Agriculture Sector

As the market demand for biodegradable packaging needs in many countries is increasing, packaging material made of banana fiber could be a promising, sustainable, eco-friendly alternative for the existing synthetic materials. Banana fiber provides a better ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) and weatherproof since it has natural pigment, pectin, and lignin which act as UV absorbers, and also it has a higher moisture content which can preserve food material naturally. In this study, a nonwoven packaging material was developed using banana fiber by needle punching technique and was tested for their ability to preserve a few sensitive fruits and vegetables. From the observations, it was found that the lifespan of almost all the tested fruits and vegetables has increased in the range of 1–5 days when stored in boxes lined with banana nonwoven felt when compared to the existing commercial package, except for banana where the life span has reduced by 2 days. Hence, the banana pseudostem which is a wasted resource can be utilized as a sustainable, eco-friendly packaging material fetching additional income to the agriculture sector and also help the formers to increase the life span of their produce.