What is mushroom fiber?

Developing fabric from mushrooms is not a very old idea, it was discovered in 2012 when product designers Philip Ross and Jonas Edvard were experimenting on Mycelium. They found that the mushroom is a versatile material and many homeware products can be made from it. After the continuous experiment, a San Francisco-based company MycoWorks which is established by a group of engineers, designers, and scientists, has come up with an innovative material that resembles fungi’s lattice-like “roots”. The vegetable part of mushrooms which are the spores of mushrooms are called Mycelium or MYX, which is a very amazing material. The network of filaments that form a thread-like structure under the ground of fungi is known as Mycelium.

This compostable material developed by Phil Ross and his team can be used to make a variety of daily use products from lamp shades to materials for packaging. The mushroom spores and plant fibers are used to develop an innovative textile that is organic and sustainable in nature. The most commonly used edible fungus which is Oyster mushroom is used for the production of mushroom fiber. Mycelium is a natural material that can be grown in multiple shapes and textures and that’s the reason why the mushroom fabric is a very amazing innovation.

This product by MycoWorks was modified by a Dutch textile designer Aniela Hoitink. The modified version was called MycoTEX and is more flexible. This amazing material by Amsterdam-based firm NEFFA is a living example of the amalgamation of technology and microbiology.

Another alternative for leather is invented from mushroom which is called MuSkin. Muskin is made from a fungus known as Phellinus ellipsoids which grow on rot wood in subtropical forests. This is also known as one of the flexible and most robust vegan leather.