We’re stretching the tile boundary a little bit with this one, but it’s so wonderfully weird and marvellously magical that we can’t help but share. With big dreams and a fabulously fungi-filled vision of the future, Ecovative Design is leading the charge towards a sustainable world.
Taking aim at two of the biggest polluters on the planet – plastics and animal agriculture – Ecovative Design is offering solutions that reduce the waste and damage produced by both industries… by simply growing something much better.
What they’re growing is mycelium – the root structure of mushrooms. So far their commercially available products focus on packaging. Using a tray of 3D models created to the desired shape, hemp hurds and mycelium are added and allowed to grow for 4 days. After this they are removed from the trays and grown for a further 2 days to allow a silky overgrowth to form on the exterior. Once the packaging is grown to size it is dried to prevent further growth. The end product is home compostable, breaking down within 45 days.
Other materials include MycoFlex™ (a foam alternative), AtLast™ (a meat alternative), and Forager™ Hides (a leather alternative). Their Mycelium Foundry is committed to researching and creating new, innovative materials that replace damaging practises and out-dated design.
A new post by Hanna Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, September 2021.