New application of mushrooms you can't think of -- mushroom leather

New application of mushrooms you can't think of -- mushroom leather

 1.What is mushroom (mycelium) leather？

Mushroom leather is made of mycelium, which is a nutrient component of hypha. It is a natural material that is very friendly to the environment and can be used to replace animal leather. The mycelium exists below the visible surface of fungi and consists of many branched hypha, which develop around to form a fast-growing complex network. When fungi are implanted into a suitable matrix, hypha will stick the matrix like glue.

Based on this characteristic, in the process of mycelial cell growth, they are engineered to create a tightly wound and internally strong three-dimensional structure, and finally processed into materials that imitate the hand feeling, durability and quality of animal leather. In the Netherlands, Bolt Threads, a global leader in mushroom farming, partners with a company that grows hyphae in stacked trays indoors. Jamie Bainbridge, vice president of product development at Bolt Threads, said: "This process is carried out in dark, closed, climate-controlled rooms, which replicate the growth conditions of this creature in the forest." "They optimized the growth conditions around humidity, light and temperature -- we know the basic conditions needed to grow this creature under very, very micro-controlled conditions."

2.What is mushroom mycelium?

Mycelium is a filamentous network that forms underground linear fungal structure, it is a branch structure of mushrooms and made up of billions of tiny cells. The mycelium of this giant creature covers nearly 2,400 acres (about 965 hectares) of soil, an area equivalent to 1,665 standard football fields.

3.How sustainable is mushroom leather?

According to "WTVOX" website, the manufacturing process of mushroom leather fully conforms to the concept of circular economy and is completely sustainable. This "natural fiber" can be biodegraded at the end of its life cycle.

4.In addition, the production of mushroom leather is completely closed-loop. Closed-loop manufacturing in fashion means that used materials must come from post-consumption waste (waste material), which manufacturers recycle, reuse and convert into environmentally friendly products. In the manufacturing process of mushroom leather, corncob, wood chips and straw are post-consumption wastes. Moreover, the waste from making mushroom leather can also be reused as organic crop fertilizer.

5.Which mushroom is the most common variety used to make leather?

Currently, Pleurotus ostreatus is the most common variety used to make mycelium leather products. However, in order to seek unique leather characteristics, some companies also use some special mushroom varieties, such as a product called "MuSkin", which is an innovative mycelium material made from Phellinus linteus, and a mycelium leather called "Mylo" developed by Bolt Threads, a large global mushroom leather manufacturer.

6.What does mushroom leather smell like?

Mushroom leather smells full of natural freshness, and it smells like books in the library.

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