Fungi as Vegan Leather: A Growing Industry with Many Environmental Benefits

It's Not the Mushrooms; It's the Mycelium

Vegan leather is compressed mycelium, the filament network of fungus. Images of mushrooms spring to mind when people hear the word, but those are really just the fruit. Mycelium is the actual organism. It draws carbon and other nutrients from a food source (substrate), decomposing it to its basic building blocks.

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Adaptable, Durable, and Fast

Mycelia have different properties depending on the species of fungus and the type of substrate, usually corn, wood chips, or straw. After mycelium completely decomposes its substrate and forms a composite with the remaining materials, manufacturers compress it, creating facsimiles of different types of leather, from soft calfskin to alligator.  

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The production of mycelium leather takes just a few weeks, and its durability is comparable with traditional animal skins – sometimes better. Moreover, the sustainability of mycelium leather is excellent, mainly owing to the low land, energy, and water requirements.

Mycelium Leather Has Many Benefits for the Environment

As a replacement for animal leather, vegan leather reduces the demand for animal agriculture. By itself, that is a fine goal. However, the environmental benefits extend beyond a slight livestock population reduction.  

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#1 – Less Resource Intensive than Animal Agriculture

According to the FAO, animal agriculture uses almost 30% of the world's ice-free land and freshwater for cattle. It also produces a whopping 20% of global GHG emissions. In addition, cows need to eat, and their feed depletes the soil in the same way as any other monoculture crop. Finally, most cattle farming operations ship in their feed from off-site, which causes even more emissions.  

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#2 – Inputs and Outputs Are Non-Polluting

The mycelium-based leather from companies like Mylo, MycoWorks, and Ecovative is 100% biodegradable. The substrate the mycelium feeds on is post-consumer agricultural waste like corn stems and wood chips, and they do not use harmful chemicals that can pollute the environment. 

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On the other hand, animal leather must undergo a lengthy tanning process to prevent the material from rotting and give it the appearance that designers want. The process requires chemical dyes and other toxins, including chromium. This element is hazardous to humans and often ends up in the water, soil, and air near tanneries. Chromium toxicity can lead to liver, kidney, and lung damage.  

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#3 – Fits into a Circular Economy

Fungi-based vegan leather represents one of the most critical sustainability principles in action – it is a closed loop. In other words, it fits into a circular economy. The raw materials of mycelium leather are byproducts of the food system that are repurposed and up-cycled. In addition, the mycelium itself is ubiquitous. In addition, the finished vegan leather can be repurposed at the end of its product life cycle. It makes excellent organic fertilizer and smoking material for organic beekeeping.

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#4 – Almost no GHG Emissions

Producing vegan leather from fungi has a tiny carbon footprint because it requires almost no energy to grow mycelium. In a controlled environment, producers can control the CO2 from mycelial "respiration," which is much less than livestock emissions, to begin with. Pending an ongoing life-cycle analysis, it seems likely that the carbon footprint of fungal leather is either carbon neutral or produces very little.

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#5 – Ethically Grown and Harvested 

Not every part of sustainability is ecological. For many people, the idea that we routinely raise animals in poor conditions and slaughter them for food or materials when there are viable alternatives is abhorrent. The rise of mycelium leather presents us with another ethical option that can provide high-quality materials and substantially reduce animal cruelty in our supply chain.

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Widespread Adoption Faces Several Hurdles

Vegan mycelium leather is an emerging industry with much room for growth. As such, it faces several barriers to reaching overall viability. First, there are few manufacturers. Although several big-name designers like Stella McCartney have bought into the idea, and some retailers like Adidas have shown interest, limited production capacity is an issue.  

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Second, designers may include mycelium leather with unsustainable materials or treat it with toxic chemicals after receiving it from the manufacturer. So, while it is a suitable replacement for leather, it can't singlehandedly render the apparel industry sustainable.  

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Finally, cow leather isn't going away anytime soon. Unlike furs or the skins of some other animals, cow leather is still associated with a widespread food source. Therefore, most people do not find using the skin of a common livestock animal to be any more ethically dubious than using meat. After all, it is less wasteful than discarding the skin altogether.

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Vegan Leather Is an Emerging Product with Great Potential

Fungi-based leather is a new phenomenon. The enthusiasm with which its producers, several designers, and larger retailers approach it is encouraging. Any possible replacement for a product as bad for the environment as animal leather presents an excellent opportunity to reduce resource consumption, GHG emissions, and pollution. Nevertheless, the industry will need time to mature. With enough buy-in from producers and sellers and plenty of deprogramming people's reaction when they hear about "wearing mushrooms," who knows? The proposition may grow on us.

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Key Takeaways

• Buy In – Currently, vegan leather products are not cheap, often ringing up equal to traditional luxury designer products. However, consider buying in if you have the means. Incentives are powerful, and you can help move the industry forward by stimulating production and spreading the word.
• Add Mushrooms – One of the reasons mycelium works as clothing is that it is excellent for your skin. In addition, various mushrooms have been used in medicine for thousands of years, making them a great source of plant protein with anti-inflammatory properties.
• Enhance Your Compost – If you already compost, try adding mushrooms to the pile. They speed up the process, and the flavors of shiitake and oyster mushrooms grown on a home compost pile are worlds beyond what you will find at a grocery store.