Maria Fernanda Cabal

Colombian fashion innovator pioneering sustainable textiles through agro-industrial waste

Maria Fernanda Cabal is the founder of Radda, a Colombian brand transforming agricultural byproducts into luxury fabrics. Her groundbreaking work began in 2018 when she developed a method to create silk-like fibers from pineapple leaves discarded by tropical fruit plantations. This innovation earned her the 2020 Global Change Award from H&M Foundation, providing $1 million in funding.

Radda's signature material, Pineapple Silk, reduces textile waste by 70% while creating additional income streams for rural farmers. Cabal's partnership with MIT researchers in 2021 led to the development of a biodegradable dyeing process using coffee grounds, further minimizing the fashion industry's environmental footprint. By 2023, her company had diverted over 200 tons of agricultural waste from landfills annually.

Her 2022 collaboration with Parisian designer Marine Serre produced a capsule collection featured at New York Fashion Week, bringing agro-textiles into mainstream fashion discourse. Cabal's TEDx Talk Growing Fashion From the Jungle (2022) explains her vision for 'farm-to-fashion' supply chains. She recently launched the Agrotextiles Accelerator, supporting 50+ startups developing materials from banana peels, sugarcane bagasse, and cactus fibers.

In 2024, Cabal received the Cartier Women's Initiative Award for scaling her impact across Latin America. Her work directly addresses UN Sustainable Development Goals 12 (Responsible Consumption) and 13 (Climate Action). The documentary Threads of the Amazon (2023) chronicles her journey and inspired similar projects in Costa Rica and Ecuador. Radda's fabrics are now used by 120+ ethical brands worldwide, proving sustainability and luxury can coexist.