How Fungi Can Transform Waste Into Useful Materials

Mushrooms. First thought. Go!

Okay, now fungus. Go!

What did you think of first? Food? Mushrooms in your yard? Beautiful organisms growing in the woods? Foot fungus (gross!)?

Well, get ready, because I sure was surprised when I discovered this use for fungi.

Fungi can be used to create (grow!) materials for the construction, home decor, and fashion industries (building materials, textiles, and household and other items). Here, I’ll share why and how we could use fungi for these alternative purposes as well as list a few companies and designers that are currently developing the technology or have started selling products.

Why would we want to make materials from fungi?

Creating materials from fungi can reduce waste. You can grow (yes grow!) the material from waste—things like sawdust, discarded pieces of glass, and rice hulls. Let’s think about that for a second. You have a bunch of junk that you can add some fungi to, let it grow, and then you have something you can actually use. One man’s trash is fungi’s treasure.

So, what can you make? Bricks, wood-like material, jackets, dresses, lampshades, pots for plants, foam for shoes, make-up sponges, and the list goes on. It would be quite remarkable if these items all go to market.

This type of material also provides the advantages of being more fire-resistant and termite-resistant than many building materials currently in use.

How are materials made from fungi?

Here’s the (super simplified) recipe:
-Fungi + waste material
-Let it grow for 1-4 weeks
-Kill the fungi
-Shape as desired (or start out with it in a mold of the desired shape)
 Ta-da, you have useful material!

When fungi grow, their cells form filaments called hyphae that branch out into a network of hyphae called mycelium. Because of this network, the material they make can be quite strong. In the case of the textiles, it can be as strong as leather. For the building materials, a video from one company showed the wood-like material crushing a metal can.

Who’s creating these fungal-based materials?

Here’s a list of companies and designers that are currently developing and/or selling products grown from fungi:

• MycoWorks – leather-like and wood-like materials
• MycoTEX by NEFFA – fabric
• MOGU –  acoustic panels, flooring
• Ecovative Design – technical wear, packaging, footwear, textiles, beauty, food
• Danielle Trofe – MushLume lamps

From useless to useful

In some cases, getting these items to the point where they are truly useful and marketable on a large scale will take some time. But I am excited to watch this concept move forward, and I hope to see more materials—especially things like packaging materials—made from fungi.

Maybe now when you hear the word mushroom or fungus, something new will come to mind—a world of opportunity. I mean, how cool is it that fungi can transform waste into useful materials? And I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind one of those lamps…I’m just putting that out there.

Further Reading

• Is Fungus the Material of the Future? (Smithsonian Magazine)
• Scientists create new building material out of fungus, rice and glass (The Conversation US)
• Hungry Mushrooms Could Clean, Build, and Make Shoes (Futurity)
• Clothing Made Of Mushrooms Might Just Be The Future — And It’s Actually Pretty Cool (Bustle)