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Sustainable Leather Grown from Mushrooms!
No cows necessary, and it can be produced in sheets of any size
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!
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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Enter a caption (optional)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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Comments
Thing is, it's not leather, just mushroom fabric. Why label it something else?
Maybe it's a way of describing the texture and material properties?
I'm curious to know how it handles decorative tooling marks.
...and stains/finishes/waxes/polishes. I'm not being doubtful, just seriously curious.
Cost per sq meter compared to leather cost per sq meter?