{"id":27048,"date":"2023-02-15t14:13:50","date_gmt":"2023-02-15t14:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.planetforward.com\/2023\/02\/15\/essay-fungi-in-fashion-opening-our-minds-to-the-world-under-our-feet\/"},"modified":"2023-02-15t14:13:50","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15t14:13:50","slug":"fungi-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/fungi-fashion\/","title":{"rendered":"essay | fungi in fashion? opening our minds to the world under our feet"},"content":{"rendered":"
there is a hidden story unfolding of the improbable new pairing of mushrooms and the fashion industry, glamour meets grounded, to solve one of the world\u2019s worst environmental problems \u2013 pollution caused by plastics and forever chemicals. almost every piece of clothing made in the western world has chemicals and plastics in them even when you don\u2019t see them, and you think what you have on is free of these pollutants.<\/p>\n
these \u201cforever chemicals\u201d never disappear, never go away, and are toxic to personal and planetary health. in 2022 alone, 72 million tonnes of synthetic materials were produced and put into clothing, according to textile exchange\u2019s preferred fiber and materials market report<\/a>. most people have no idea they are walking around in glorified plastic bags. it is not a matter of if we can change, but if we will and the answer appears to be under our feet. welcome to plastic rehab, we\u2019ve been waiting for you. <\/p>\n mycelium, the root structure of fungi and what mycologist paul stamets calls \u201cthe earth’s natural internet,\u201d is just starting to be harnessed to create climate and environmental solutions to many problems. mycelium weave magnificent webs, interlinking nature, allowing different life forms to communicate. now they are branching out to the fashion industry to open our eyes, co-creating with people to show that another regenerative materials future is possible. <\/p>\n currently leather is predominantly made from animal skins or synthetic materials<\/a>, with a few other plant-based concoctions entering the arena. cow leather is a byproduct of the animal agriculture industry, so fashion is completely dependent on the production of beef for hides to make leather. vegan, bio, and faux leather are just some of the aliases plastic goes by these days to hook new victims.<\/p>\n artisans used to sustainably use hides to make leather through vegetable tanning. it was a tedious process as tanning could take weeks. so what had been a specialized craft, has now been overrun by chromium tanning<\/a> which is much faster and cheaper. but it suffuses the world with chromium sulfate. this allows the fashion industry to make cookie cutter products as speed and cost reductions are prioritized, leaving people and the planet to pay the true cost. this fuels a system driven around cheap fast goods, ignoring the natural systems we operate within that replenish resources intuitively but cannot keep up with over extraction.<\/p>\n staging a grassroots revolution, mycelium is here to dethrone the plastic and animal leather kings. mycelium can do something plastics cannot, biodegrade seamlessly back into the ground as food, not poison. <\/p>\n unraveling and upending the current system, the use of mycelium could also reduce consumption of land and water. designers can direct their creativity to choosing love, choosing life, and choosing wisely. treating the fungi kingdom as our new partners, we don\u2019t have to limit designs to just a replacement trying to replicate the old regime. mycelium materials don\u2019t have to conform to old shapes because they can take on so much more, it just needs to be imagined.<\/p>\ncan fungi replace leather?<\/h2>\n