Summary

Mycoworks is a biotechnology company that is creating leather-like biodegradable materials using mycellium mushrooms. The company takes mycelium and creates a rigid material that is as strong, durable, and soft as traditional leather. The mycelium can be grown quickly and exactly to specification, eliminating any waste, and avoiding recent supply chain concerns. First, the company harvests the mushrooms. Then, using chromium-free chemistry, it turns it into a product it calls Reishi. That product is then tanned and finished as needed. (Source) The leather is customizable to be grown into any shape, and can grow textures and other features right into the material. (Source) The company then followed up with other products like Reishi Doux, Reishi Natural, and Reishi Pebble in 2023. Since its founding, the product has been used in a number of luxury retail items such as handbags, hats and even for cars. Commercial-scale manufacturing began in September 2023 at a plant in Union, South Carolina. (Source)

Story

The company was founded by Philip Ross and Sophia Wang. Ross is an artist, who has worked at the intersection of art, design and biotechnology for over three decades. He began cultivating mycelium as a material for art and design in the 1990s, inspired by the beauty and life cycles of mushrooms. When worldwide interest in Phil’s material inventions brought opportunities to partner with brands seeking innovative, sustainable materials, Phil invited his long-time artistic collaborator, Sophia Wang, to start a company. Wang understood the role that storytelling would play in bringing this material to the world more commercially and Mycoworks was born thereafter.

Pic credit: Mycoworks (right) and TechCrunch(top)