REVIEW PAPER

AN ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY MUSHROOM LEATHER

V. LOGA SUBRAMANI

B. Tech T.T.

A. A. RAYBAGI

Assistant Professor in Textiles

DKTE’S Textile & Engineering Institute, Ichalkaranji

Abstract

A versatile material that has created outstanding attention among buyers of apparel, footwear, and furniture because of its flexibilit and durability properties. Excluding the features of leather, the steps are involved in its manufacturing having a huge impact on the surroundings. In contrast to the newest leather made from mushroom technology, the usual leather accounts for higher ecological footprints. The emergency of innovative fabrics formed from the mycelium of mushrooms is expected to have huge demand in the market in the upcoming generation. This context emphasizes the processing methods involved in designing mushroom leather, its advantages over animal leather, and its influence on the environment.

Key Words: animal leather, environment friendly, leather, mushroom leather, sustainable, etc.

Introduction

Leather is a well-known material in the field of clothing, furniture, accessories, and footwear. On account of its longlasting, versatility, and good comfort it has a huge estimation in the market with a business value of US$ 100 billion per year. Traditionally the raw materials that take part in the processing are animal skins which make the leather industry depend on by-products of the dairy and meat industries. Subsequently, the leathers are tanned and processed under several conditions which release toxic chemicals that account for carbon emissions and playing a significant role in the greenhouse effect. The latest competitor has emerged in the market showcasing modern technologies by replacing the leather derived from animals with sustainable and environment-friendly leather. The innovative product that completely removes usage of chemicals, reduction in carbon emissions, on the other hand having the supremacy such as recyclable, flexible and can able to mimic the standard leather is simply awesome. In this article, the discussion is made on the process included in the production of alternate leather with its impact on surroundings and benefits over animal leather.

2. Implementation of an exceptional ingredient

Labels such as sustainable, environment-friendly, renewable, and organic are well suited for the innovative class of textile “Mushroom Leather”. Apart from the application of fungi in medical science, edibles, and biofertilizers the compound multicellular organisms are utilized in making an eco-friendly product. Varieties of mushrooms exist in the environment having divergent properties in which some accounts for nourishment and another set of spe-

Figure 1: Network of white threads (Mycelium)

(Source: Pixabay - https://pixabay.com/ photos/mushroom-mycelium-small-mushroom-3835397/)

cies used for the medicinal purpose [7] (Mitchell P, Tien, Chaitali, F, & John, 2017). In this case, mushrooms are primal matter in the processing of sustainable leather as they own the competency to grow mycelium underneath them.

3. Under grown network of hyphae Mycelium is the largest living structure on the globe occupies nearly 10

Kilometer square in Oregon’s Blue Mountains. Mycelium, the vegetative constituent of fungus incorporated with a matrix of filaments. In another way, the term mycelium is defined as a rootlike structure covering mushrooms. The process of developing the network of such delicate white strands requires minimum dissipation of energy and resulted in the trash can be recycled [2] (J, T, Rames, & Kavitha, 2015).

4. Construction of an eco-friendly substitute

4.1 Preparation of substrate

During the processing of mushroom leather, the surface on which the mushroom grows should be dampened. Mushrooms are included with organic wastes such as sawdust, straw, and corn. The company named MycoWorks mixes agar along with mushrooms whereas Mycotech uses sawdust. Wet substrate makes it easier for the mushroom to append with the organic inclusions and develop. The growing conditions can be tuned to produce composites of varied sizes, shapes, and performance of the outcome [3] (Madaria, 2018).

4.2 Development of mycelium

The process of developing mycelium also eliminates the involvement of overpriced and cosmopolitan methods. Following the cleaning process, the wastes are mixed with a minute, reproductive unit of mushroom and covered. Mycelium grows at an exponential rate ranges from four to nine days [4] (Mitchell P, Antoni, Sabu, & Alexander, 2020). Other factors also modify the growth of mycelium is a variety of mushroom, humidity, and temperature [3] (Qua, 2019). The cells ultimately having tightly interlaced mycelium that grows into a bundle of thread-like structures with interconnections that are highly responsible for material strength. Before drying and utilization, the final material is compressed to obtain the needed size and shape [4] (Mitchell P, Antoni, Sabu, & Alexander, 2020).

5. Contrasting characteristics of mushroom leather

5.1 During processing

In the premature stage of the process, modification of substrates and alteration of growing conditions is possible [1] (Haneef, Luca, Cloudia, Jose, & Athanassia, 2017). The material can be grown in vertically stacked layers results in better use of space. Polyvinyl chloride or PVC leather [3] (Qua, 2019) is produced by chemical alteration of vinyl polymer whereas mycelium-based leather eliminates the usage of chemicals during processing. The process implements minimum usage of water less than one-tenth of water used in typical leather production. Mycelium fabrics can form the resultant fabric with different textures, sizes, finishes, and complex shapes to acquire desired characteristics.

5.2 Advantages of mushroom leather over typical leather

The time required in the latest manufacturing technology is very less compared to the typical process. Growing cattle for skin (raw material) may take three years to produce fragments of leather while the growth of mushrooms is rapid. Hence raising livestock is not involved in fungi-derived leather [3] (Qua, 2019). Fewer carbon emissions and processing with a minimum amount of chemicals are the added advantage. It helps in controlling properties such as texture, strength, elongation, orientation, and unmatched finishes [6] (Madaria, 2018).

Figure 3: Ebony finish of Black Emboss

Figure 4: Brown Natural leather

(Source: Myco Works Inc. - https://www. madewithreishi.com/products)

Mycelium has the potential to construct large-scale structured (macro structured) fabrics which are robust and pleasant to breathe. The contribution of animal agriculture in greenhouse gas emissions is more considering mycelium has a soft connection to the environment from the initial to the final stage. The watch straps of mushroom leather can prevent skin annoyance due to eczema. Light mycelium-based leather also has more absorbency compared to its competitor [4] (Mitchell P, Antoni, Sabu, & Alexander, 2020).

Table 1: Properties of mushroom-based leather compared to cowhide leather

Environmental impact of mushroom technology

The whole process of fabricating the mushroom leather happens in a closed-

Figure 5: Illustration of eco-friendly nature of mushroom leather

loop manner. The term closed-loop means that the raw materials employed in the process acquired from post-consumer waste and made into recycling and adapted to use into a variety of products [3] (Madaria, 2018). Growth substrates incorporated such as sawdust, corn, and straw are usually byproducts of agriculture that facilitate creative re-use. The effective growth of mycelium is achieved by an organic process that makes up the leather-like composite with a low impact on the environment [6] (Qua, 2019). The process of making leather from mushrooms that too inclusive of renewable ingredients and customization technology is unprecedented. With the constantly evolving technologies, the leather alternative is expected to have an extraordinary market in the future. In addition to enormous benefits, mycelium-based materials have the least impact on the environment than making them superior to typical leather. The mushroom leather has been produced on a small scale now; when it starts to be manufactured in extensive volumes then customers will highly get attracted to such sustainable fashion. Also, we can state that money is the big concern in switching to sustainable fashion, if there is cost reduction, hope the leather can draw much attention from buyers [13]. Every individual should aware of the term “Eco-conscious”. Once they started to show concern for the environment then green could be an incredible trend in the world.

Figure 5: Percentage more people ready to pay for sustainable fashion

(Source: Survey on global perspective by KPMG) 1) Haneef, M., Luca, C., Cloudia, C., Jose, H.-G., & Athanassia, A. (2017, 01 24). Advanced Materials From Fungal Mycelium: Fabrication and Tuning of Physical Properties. Scientific Reports, 7. doi:10.1038/ srep41292 2) J, K., T, S., Rames, P., & Kavitha, S. (2015, 02 15). Eco-friendly waste management strategies for greener environment towards sustainable development in leather industry: A comprehensive review. Journal of cleaner production. doi:10.1016/j. jclepro.2014.11.013 3) Madaria, D. (2018). I search paper: Mushroom Leather. 4) Mitchell P, J., Antoni, G., Sabu, J., & Alexander, B. (2020, 09 07). Leather-like material fabrication using fungi. Natural sustainability. doi:10.1038/s41893-020-00606-1 5) Mitchell P, J., Tien, H., Chaitali, D., F, D., & John , S. (2017). Mycelium Composites: A Review of Engineering Characteristics and Growth Kinetics. Journal of Bionanoscience. 6) Qua, F. (2019). A qualitative study on sustainable materials for design through a comparative review of leather and its modern alternatives. 7) Stamets, P. (2005). Mycelium Running: How mushrooms can save the world. New York: Ten-speed press. 8) “Bolt Threads – Mylo.” Bolt Threads, Bolt Threads Inc., http://www.boltthreads.com 9) Reishi™: https://www.madewithreishi. com/products 10) Myco Works https://www.mycoworks.com/ourproducts#an-advanced-materials-platform 11) Mushroom Leather is more than a sustainable alternative to animal skin by Katherine Saxon https://wtvox.com/fashion/ mushroom-leather 12) Eco vative design: https://ecovativedesign.com/ Sustainable fashion, a survey on global perspectives by KPMG, FASHION SUMMIT.

FACTS

Leather has been around for quite a long time and is produced using the skins of expired creatures without the requirement for the utilization of costly engineered materials. It has consistently been eco-accommodating and that is something that won't ever change particularly with the appearance of biodegradable leather in the 21st century.