The circle of it: This company is creating biodegradable and compostable alternatives to plastics and other synthetic foams using mushroom technology within the packaging space.
ecovative design
Summary
Ecovative pioneered the science of turning mushroom mycelium into complete materials. The process uses agricultural waste products such as cotton hulls, cleaning the material, heating it up, inoculating it to create growth of the fungal mycelium, growing the material for period of about five days, and finally heating it to make the fungus inert. The company has subsequently expanded from its initial goal of plastic-free packaging and is now using the mushroom technology for a wide range of applications including alternatives for leather and meat.
Story
Founders Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre met while attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as undergraduates. They collaborated on building out the idea conceived in an “Inventor’s Studio” class led by a professor (Bert Swersey).
Pic Credit: Atlas of the Future (right) and Ecovative Design (top)
“Through mycelium, we’ve found a delicious and sustainable solution for a world that desperately needs to reexamine where its food comes from. By creating a product that helps decrease our production carbon footprint, pollution and water usage, we are able to provide food products that better the environment, especially compared to traditional factory farming. “
Eben Bayer in an interview
Founder(s)
Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre
Headquarters
Albany, NY
In business since
2007
Business type
for profit
Impact
Technology
creating mycelium, creating alternatives using mycelium technology
Material
agricultural waste used to create mycelium through mushroom technology
Website
The Circular People 
Leave a comment