Pina cloth was worn by the natives in South America when the Conquistadors arrived. It was a cloth for wealthy people, because only a few could afford to wrap themselves in such expensive material. It was a tropical luxury.

The wild pineapple, Annanas Magdalena, grows everywhere in the jungles of Sri Lanka. It prevents soil erosion and earth slips in the mountains. The leaves are cut to gain the fibre and soon replaced. The epidermis is removed with a piece of bamboo, exposing the pina fibre. Then the fibre is spun together with silk to form a shiny thread.