here are many ways companies can reduce their environmental impact, such as cutting carbon emissions or switching to cleaner energy, but one of the most promising technologies from a sustainability standpoint is biomaterials. Numerous initiatives exist (more here), but these have to be scalable if they are to have a real impact.

Founded in 2013, the American biotechnology company MycoWorks is achieving commercial-scale production. Interest in its Fine Mycelium™ technology, the genesis of its Reishi™ biomaterial, has caught industry attention, not least in the luxury segment. Europa Star met the company (for the second time) at the Biofabricate summit in Paris, in January 2024.

Hermès Victoria bag in Sylvania

Courtesy of MycoWorks, Photo By Coppi Barbieri

Co-sponsor with Kering of the event, MycoWorks is a biomaterials pioneer. In 2021 it demonstrated the viability of its process and the quality of its material, compatible with luxury standards, with the release of a Hermès Victoria bag in Sylvania [a biomaterial made with Fine Mycelium™]. Now the company is ramping up its development. Its recently opened South Carolina facility is fully operational and the first commercial-scale sheets of Reishi™ have shipped.

Allen St. makes accessories in Reishi™

Courtesy of MycoWorks, Photo By Pol Rebaque

The advantages of Reishi™

MycoWorks CEO Matt Scullin confirms that “production is going well, in fact we’re ahead of schedule. We have harvested the first thousand sheets of Reishi™ and will be harvesting a further ten thousand in the coming six weeks. They will be shipped to our partner tanneries for transformation.”

Matthew L. Scullin, MycoWorks CEO, speaking at the Biofabricate summit in Paris, in January 2024

MycoWorks’ unique selling point is the undeniable quality, strength, durability and feel of its finished product. The technology behind these biomaterials is unique, as Fred Martel, SVP of Sales and Business Development, explains: “Reishi™ is grown from a natural substrate, either pure or combined with sheets of cotton. The result is a breakthrough material which has the look, feel and performances of leather.”

Reishi™ in the various finishes

Courtesy of MycoWorks, Photo by Pol Rebaque

An independent life cycle assessment of Reishi™ (see here) shows that its carbon footprint is significantly lower than that of the bovine leather equivalent, at 2.7 to 5.8 kg/m² compared with 61 kg/m² for animal leather. This translates to a reduction in carbon emissions of over 90 per cent.

Lower carbon emissions are not the only benefit. Manufacturing Reishi™ requires substantially less water, less energy (also, the South Carolina facility runs off solar power and hydroelectricity) and fewer polluting inputs than its animal-based equivalent. Whereas chromium, a known pollutant, is widely used to fix the collagen present in animal skins to make them rot-proof, this is not necessary with Fine Mycelium™ because it is plant-based. It uses what is essentially a lubrication process which replicates each stage in conventional tanning, such as dry milling to obtain a supple finish.

A sheet of pebble-finish Reishi™

Courtesy of MycoWorks, Photo by Pol Rebaque

MycoWorks delivers the harvested Fine Mycelium™ sheets to the expert hands of its partner tanneries or directly to clients who carry out the tanning themselves (Hermès tanned and finished the Sylvania for its Victoria bag). Tanning reveals another advantage of this biomaterial, namely that sheets can be split to a thickness of 0.2 millimetres which, Fred Martel adds, “has superior strength compared with animal leather at this thickness.”

Quality has been further enhanced by systems introduced at the new facility, as Matt Scullin explains: “We have automated a large number of stages, allowing us to retain only the human interaction needed to improve the quality of our material. This has enabled us to speed up mass production, achieve even more consistent quality and radically reduce costs.” MycoWorks’ savoir-faire lies with the technology it has developed and mycelium’s unique capacity to incorporate other materials in its growth; currently cotton but the possibilities are almost limitless.

Another important point is that Reishi™ is virtually plastic-free: whereas the majority of leathers incorporate or are coated with a (more or less thick) layer of polyurethane or PVC for strength, with Reishi™ this layer represents less than 1% of the the material’s overall composition. MycoWorks can also supply sheets with no surface finish, as it did for Hermès.

Automotive applications

MycoWorks was convinced its successful collaboration with Hermès would open the floodgates for enquiries from other luxury brands, particularly in fashion, but as Fred Martel recalls, “the Hermès Victoria bag was a fantastic showcase and trained the spotlight on Reishi™’s potential. But to our surprise, most of the feedback came from other sectors, more premium than pure luxury.”

In 2022 General Motors contacted the startup to develop a biomaterial alternative to animal leather, which accounts for a large share of the automaker’s environmental footprint. The first Reishi™ seats should roll out in a few years’ time. “This is an excellent benchmark from which we can evaluate Reishi™’s performance,” says Fred Martel. “A car seat has to withstand variations in temperature, friction, scratching and staining, while retaining its strength and suppleness. Our collaboration with General Motors has opened new doors for us.”

Frederick Martel, MycoWorks SVP of Sales and Business Development

Environmental advocate Natalie Portman and John Legend were two of the investors participating in a funding round in 2022 (the company has raised $187 million in total). Its expansion into premium markets continues: the latest collaboration to date is with high-end French furniture label Ligne Roset.

“We are proud to be the first to introduce Reishi™ into our collections and to the furniture design industry,” said Antoine Roset, Marketing Director Groupe Roset, in a press release. “We have been waiting for years for a natural, sustainable material that meets our quality standards and our customers’ expectations. We believe Reishi™ is the answer.” Ligne Roset plans to launch a number of Reishi™ products throughout 2024.

Ligne Roset x Reishi™

Courtesy of MycoWorks, Photo By Pol Rebaque

Fashion… and watchmaking?

Fashion brands are waking up to Reishi™’s potential. Nick Fouquet’s custom-made hats made headlines in 2022. Since then, the Stockholm-based ethical clothing label Deadwood Studios, known for its edgy designs, has sent Reishi™ coats down the runway at Paris Fashion Week.

Reishi™ coats by Deadwood

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The Swedish brand used natural Reishi™, which highlights the material’s richness, beauty and variability, although the sheets can be engineered for bespoke products with endless possibilities. “We can grow Reishi™ with a pattern, a text or a logo which the mycelium embosses into the material,” says Fred Martel. Kevlar in your Reishi™ suit? Conductor steel in your dashboard? Your logo embedded in your strap? You name it!

Nick Fouquet x Reishi™

Courtesy of MycoWorks, Photo By Aran Martinez Solana

So what about watchmaking? Several brands are in discussion with the American firm, and while the notoriously secretive nature of the luxury industry means no-one is naming names, Fred Martel confirms that “we’re currently discussing ideas with certain major brands. Watch straps, for example, imply specific requirements in terms of quality, resistance to perspiration, hypoallergeny and flexibility, but there are other opportunities, retail display being one of the main ones. This is an innovative, high-quality material which substantially reduces carbon emissions, water consumption and pollutants. It’s just the beginning.”

Last but not least, every sheet of Fine Mycelium™ carries a unique code that guarantees its authenticity and traceability. So is this the “miracle material” that watchmakers, in their efforts to become more sustainable, have been waiting for? Let’s see.