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Sustainable Leather Grown from Mushrooms!

No cows necessary, and it can be produced in sheets of any size

By Rain Noe - September 19, 2016

in Materials | Social Impact

A San-Francisco-based company called MycoWorks has made an incredible advance in materials: They can now grow leather from the mycelium in mushrooms, using a process that's renewable, CO2-negative and customizable. That latter part means they can predetermine what the leather looks like—cow, elephant skin, snakeskin—and most intriguingly, can grow it to any size!

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The company claims that the material "feels and performs like leather," being "strong, flexible and durable, just like conventional leathers. It is also water-resistant." Furthermore, they state that their production process "takes a fraction of the time and resources…compared to processes for making leather from animal hides."

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Green credentials aside, I think what's most fascinating is the fact that they can grow it in large sheets. When selecting hides, all leatherworkers must live with the limitations of a cow's body; with that obstacle removed, I think that once the right designer gets their hands on this stuff, we'll see some truly spectacular, large-scale leather creations that could not be produced the conventional way.

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Benji Pauly

8 years ago

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Thing is, it's not leather, just mushroom fabric. Why label it something else?

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- Joshua Terrell
  
  Benji Pauly
  
  8 years ago
  
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  Maybe it's a way of describing the texture and material properties?
  
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Jason Pokines

8 years ago

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I'm curious to know how it handles decorative tooling marks.

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  Jason Pokines
  
  8 years ago
  
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  ...and stains/finishes/waxes/polishes. I'm not being doubtful, just seriously curious.
  
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David Beck

8 years ago

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Cost per sq meter compared to leather cost per sq meter?

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