MycoWorks


MycoWorks is a San Francisco-based startup which produces sustainable products and apparels from fungi. The company was founded in 2013 and produces weatherproof materials using the fungi "Ganoderma lucidum" and "Pleurotus ostreatus". They use the production method to make furniture, bricks, footwear, and leather.

Launch

The company began when Chief Technical Officer Phil Ross began an art project by adding chemicals to different fungal growth stages.

Technology

MycoWorks produces its products through a process which involves steam cooking bags of sawdust for several hours in airtight bags, after which the sawdust or cornhusks are moved into a mold. In the mold, mushroom tissue is introduced which feeds on the growing medium. The mycelium then grows. Lastly the fungi is killed by putting the whole into an oven, hence stopping additional growth.
According to co-founder Phil Ross, production of this material is similar to making ravioli from scratch, and the final product is more resilient than cement.
Another product made by the company is a leather-like textile. Unlike traditional animal hide leather, the product is made from a mix of fungus and wood fibers. It can be made in any size. The leather product can be made in sheets up to 27 square feet.