Mushroom Fiber: The Future of Sustainable Textile

Shubham Anil Jain
Sr. Consultant
Cent Edge Solutions LLP, Bangalore, India
Email: shubhamajain125@gmail.com

Introduction:
As it is clearly visible that, fashion is an ever-changing sector that has undergone several transformation over the past years. As it is seen that, sustainability and ethical production tends to emerge as more crucial in our daily lives, fashion is following suit. One such creative and innovative aspect in fashion that has been getting a lot of popularity in recent years is the use of mushrooms in developing sustainable clothing.

As the name mushroom, tends to makes you think it is as delicious as well as nutritious food. But recently it has been found that it is possible to make many textile or fashion products from mushrooms. Mushrooms are very eco-friendly material that helps in biodegradable and sustainable textile fibers production. Even it is now possible to create and develop fashionable clothes from this organic fiber.

Clothing Developed from Mushrooms:
Currently, it is now possible to develop clothing with mushrooms. Mushrooms are something that is being familiar to all of us. Basically, fiber which can be developed from the mycelium, mycelium is nothing but the fungal and fibrous underground structure of mushroom. It is seen that technology is helping the mycelium to grow into 3D structures as per the manufacturer’s demand. Due to the need for environmentally friendly and emerging scope of sustainable textile fibers, the same technology has been utilized to fashion as well as textiles. The first person who developed a fabric called ‘MycoTex’ from mycelium in a lab, was Dutch fashion designer ‘Aniela Hoitink’, and uses it to create a complete showstopper garment. It is found to be anti-microbial as well as suitable for sensitive skin. After that, British designer ‘Suzanne Lee’ created a jacket, which is been made from mycelium of mushrooms. Now, after innovative creation from shoes to bags and fashionable attires, when it comes to a sustainable material, mycelium has a lot of possibility. But first of all, we have to catch our perception of it.

mushroom fiber clothing — Fig: Mushroom fiber clothing (Image courtesy: fashionjournal.com.au)

The Process of Making Cloth from Mushrooms: Bio-Fabrication:
When it comes to the technical procedure of developing fabric from fungus or mushrooms is known as bio-fabrication. This process is simply involves the development of the fabric from the growing part of micro-organisms like mushroom root. Also, the interesting thing, here is that this process has highlighted the connection between fashion and biology, and has beautifully enhanced how fashion comes very close to biology. For lab production, different treatments aspects such as lighting, temperature, humidity, essential oils and other organic techniques have to be utilizes for the nutrition and proper growth of the mushrooms with the aid of a petri dish. Simply, after 2-3 weeks, they are good enough for harvest process and soaked with another liquid, and then taken out and put into the circular 3D-shaped mold. And then, after thorough drying, they are converted into garments. The positive point regarding this ‘MycoTex’ fabric is that the garment is developed without sewing. So that, this process definitely helps in minimising production time as well as cost. It is also seen that various fungus mycelium can give different look and hand touch for the resulting products.

Mushroom Leather:
In 2016, English fashion designer “Stella McCartney” has developed a bag with the help of mushroom leather, but she did not make her debut. After a long time and struggle of research, she was able to develop clothes with mushroom skin. It is seen that, in her prominent career of 20 years, she has always tried to develop clothes and various fashionable accessories or products with natural ingredients. She never attempted to develop anything out of animal skin. So, after a lot of endeavor, for the first time she made a black “Bustier and Trousers” as “Milo-Garments” with the proper use of mushroom skin. Mushroom leather is found to be very different in its vintage look and it’s super soft in its feel as well. As we know, mushroom fibers are also found to be environment-friendly and free from harmful effects.

Future of Mushroom Fiber:

It is clearly evident that, many of the companies have already initiated producing mushroom-based fashion/textile. One of such company is Bolt Threads, which has created a technology known as Mylo, a material which simply looks and feels like leather but is created from mycelium.
Another company, which is known as MycoWorks, also utilizes mycelium to develop a leather alternative called Reishi.
It is seen found that the scope for mushroom-based textile or fashion is very large. One of the biggest plus point over here, is that it can minimize the environmental issues of the fashion industry.
As we already know that, traditional textile production is one of the biggest sources of pollution worldwide, and because the production of synthetic materials just like polyester and nylon releases harmful chemicals into the surrounding.
By using mycelium to manufacture textiles, we can prominently minimize the environmental impact of fashion production. Also, mushroom-based textile is highly versatile.
The material can be easily framed into any shape or size, making it perfect for a wide range of textile and fashion products, from shoes and bags to jackets and pants.
This kind of versatility, simply means that mushroom-based textile could soon become a major in the fashion industry, restoring traditional materials that are harmful to the environment.
It is also analyzed that, there are also many economic advantages to mushroom-based fashion. As the need and requirements for sustainable and eco-friendly products tends to grow, companies that invest in these technologies could see a prominent increase in their profits.
Overall, mushroom-based textile could also helps to create new jobs in research as well as development field, also in the production of these materials.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, mushroom fiber based textile has the huge power to revolutionize the textile industry. It is found to be highly sustainable, versatile, and eco-friendly in nature, which makes it a great option to traditional textile production methods. As more and more companies invest in these technologies, we can forecast to see a good shift towards sustainable fashion in the future. With the advantages that mushroom-based textile offers, it is clear evident that it is a trend that is here to stay for so long.

References:

June 30, 2021, Mushroom: A Sustainable Textile Fiber https://textilefocus.com/mushroom-sustainable-textile-fiber/
Martin Stubler, AUGUST 9, 2022, Mycelium – fibers of the future? https://www.fiberjournal.com/mycelium-fibers-of-the-future/
Sustainable Fabric Series: All about Mycelium Fabric https://www.kleiderly.com/our-blog/sustainable-fabric-series-all-about-mycelium-fabric
Kim Taylor, March 21, 2018, Clothing Made Of Mushrooms Might Just Be The Future — And It’s Actually Pretty Cool https://www.bustle.com/p/clothing-made-of-mushrooms-might-just-be-the-future-its-actually-pretty-cool-8018663

FAQs:

Q1. What are the important advantages of mycelium fabric?
Ans: When it comes to the mushroom fabric created, it is more waterproof, fire-resistant as well as non-toxic. The major benefits include insulating and moisture-absorbing properties for several applications.

Q2. What is the prominent colour of mushroom fabric?
Ans: Generally, it is found that Lino Mushroom is a woven linen blended fabric. It has Greyish Beige colour, which has a soft drapable hand and a superb appearance as slub yarns were used in weaving process to give additional features to this fabric.

Q3. How long mushroom leather last?
Ans: When it comes to mycelium-based leather, it has survived over 100,000 Bally Flex cycles also the average cowhide leather simply tends to lasts around 10,000 cycles.

Q4. What are different fashion brands that uses mushroom leather?
Ans: Some of the fashion brands such as Stella McCartney, Balenciaga, and Hermès are trying bring out handbags, shoes, and coats developed of mycelium leather; it’s an option to animal hides and is developed basically from roots of mushrooms. This kind of new fabric is developed by companies such as Bolt Threads and MycoWorks.

Q5. Is mushroom leather durable enough?
Just like traditional leather, mushroom leather is also found to be highly durable leather. This is due to deeply intertwined threads particularly called as mycelium, and how they generally fuse together to develop a larger structure.

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Mazharul Islam Kiron

Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. He is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.