The Search for Sustainable & Vegan-Leather Alternatives: Mushroom Leather
Here at The Carbon Closet, we push the use of vegan and sustainable materials that don’t cost your style, or the planet. Many of our amazing products optimise the use of plant-based materials- the obvious being cotton, wool and hemp. As the industry adapts to the climate crisis and generates new materials for sustainable fashion, we are seeing an increase on some less obvious options. In today’s exploration: Mushroom Leather. Join us as we delve into the production, benefits and possible disadvantages of this fungi fabric.
Production Mushroom leather is produced by harvesting the root-like structure from mushrooms, which is known as Mycelium. This is the substance that is spongy and leather-like as opposed to the actual mushroom itself. It is grown in a controlled environment, harvested and then dried treated to create the material that is more desirable for our vegan leather jackets. This can only remain a vegan and ethical product if the treatments and production does not utilise unethical practises and added chemicals of substances that do not align with sustainable fashion values. For example, adding any kind of polymer or plastic based substance would counteract the strive for eco-friendly fashion, and this is also why we are excited by the introduction of these foody-fabrics as opposed to PVC leather or other plastic variations.
Benefits As we already know, using mushroom leather, or Mycelium allows for a reduction in plastic usage in the sustainable fashion world. There are also a few other benefits linked to our fungi fashions.
1) Less plastic usage Less plastic is produced, used and disposed of when we use mushroom leather as an alternative. We also reduce the number of unethical treatments and chemicals that are released into the environment upon production.
2) High quality Mycelium has already been used and sold by reputable brands such as Lululemon and Stella McCartney. From this, we can conclude that if it’s good enough for McCartney, then it’s good enough for everyone!
3) Futuristic ethical practises The production and usage of mushroom leather itself feels futuristic, but the idea becomes a whole lot more impressive when hearing that there is an upcoming study on regenerating mushroom leather! So rather than disposing of your torn mushroom leather bag, it will pull itself back together! Read what the BBC have to say on this miraculous matter!
Disadvantages As with any exploration into a new practise, there could be some drawbacks to consider. This is not to discourage its usage, but rather to help you understand the battle against unethical fashion, and the research that goes into creating stylish, sustainable pieces.
1) Fungi with funky odours? Mushrooms are often associated with damp and muggy environments. We may worry that any products made from this material would come with these unwanted odours; however, as we previously explored, this material is developed under controlled environments, and brands as established as McCartney would not sell funky fragranced fashion to anyone!
2) Regenerating… under what guidance? Although the idea of regenerating fabrics is phenomenal, what’s to say that it won’t continue to grow and develop outside of its designed blueprint? It also raises the question as to whether the repaired area of the product is as strong and seamless as the rest of the fabric.
3) Durability and Duration As you can imagine, mushroom will be less strong and resilient compared to animal-based leathers. With further development, it is very likely that mushroom fabrics can be treated or reinforced to provide strength, plus it is significantly quicker to produce; in merely 2-3 weeks!
Start your sustainable journey today! In conclusion, mushroom leather has way too many advantages to ignore. Even the potential drawbacks have several solutions and can be explored in future research to better suit our everyday ethical fashion needs. The Carbon Closet is proud to promote such advanced and ecological products. We can’t wait to see what else the future holds for edible alternatives.
We’d love you to join us on the journey towards the sustainable future of fashion. Visit The Carbon Closet for amazing products and sign up to our newsletter for more information.
Can you guess the next vegan leather-alternative? Hint: it’s commonly found in the desert.