The mushroom-powered business putting the plastic industry on notice

Innovative ways of using mycelium (AKA the root structure of fungus) is rapidly taking off and this RMIT alum hopes the compostable alternative will soon replace plastic packaging.

RMIT alum, entrepreneur and part-time sessional lecturer Amanda Morgan first learned about the wonders of mycelium when she began following the work of microbiologist Tradd Cotter, who was growing oyster mushrooms in rolls of old denim jeans. By doing so, he was recycling fabric and also using it to grow new materials.

This regenerative practice tied in with the strong sustainability focus embedded into the Bachelor of Fashion (Design) that Amanda graduated with in 2018.

“Through my degree, I was looking for methods to recapture and recycle textile waste,” she said.

“Sustainability is now a fundamental part of every industry in the sense that we don't have the option to not be sustainable. In fact, the step beyond that is to be regenerative or feeding back into the systems that feed us. And I think fungi are quite inspirational for that.”

A person holding up a large, fan-shaped mushroom structure with both hands in front of their face, in a red indoor setting. Photo by Eli May Studios.

How mushrooms make leather and other products

Most of us know mushrooms from what we see in supermarkets and on our plates, but that is only the fruit of the fungus. What grows underneath is a tough web of fine, tightly bound strands.

It not only breaks down organic matter efficiently, but when compacted it can be shaped into various lightweight forms to provide protection and insulation. It also decomposes in a matter of weeks once added to the garden compost, unlike polystyrene, which takes more than 500 years to break down.

Homewares empire IKEA began replacing polystyrene packaging with mycelium packaging in 2019 and computer giant Dell began using it for server shipping back in 2011.

Mycelium is very versatile and its surface can even be used to make a leather-style fabric.

“You harvest the top layer of it, and then you can make it into a flexible leather-like material. It feels very much like a leather, it performs very similarly to a leather, but is obviously made from fungus instead of an animal.

“But it works because it's got a very similar mechanical structure to skin, essentially.”

Mycelium leather takes four to five days to grow, whereas animal leather is usually harvested after four or five years of growth.

Mushroom business takes root in Melbourne

Amanda, who is currently enrolled in RMIT’s Master of Technology (Fashion and Textiles), was fascinated with the many uses of mycelium and founded a research and development company called Fungi Solutions with business partner Camden Cooke.

The company was launched in 2020 after Amanda spent five years basing her honours collection around recycling with fungi and recycled textiles, as well as product development. Today, it produces custom-made funghi leather and packaging solutions, as well as mycelium sculptures, signage, plinths and lighting.

“The two of us set the organisation up and we've got a pretty small team of advisors, a great network of investors and a few people that sort of come in to help out as well,” she said.

Fungi Solutions has received funding from family and friends of Amanda and Camden, and also won a handful of grants. The company also has a slew of awards to its name, including three Early Ethical Enterprise Awards in 2021, two Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards in 2022 and an exhibitor award from the NGV in 2023.

"Sustainability is now a fundamental part of every industry in the sense that we don't have the option to not be sustainable. In fact, the step beyond that is to be regenerative or feeding back into the systems that feed us. And I think fungi are quite inspirational for that."

Growing in new directions

Demand for mycelium is soaring.

“The material’s really exploded in popularity,” Amanda explained.

“We have a lot more demand than we can supply. We've got a couple of hundred clients on our books and then several thousand on a waitlist.”

This huge number of orders and increasing interest in mushroom-based materials will see Fungi Solutions move from its 250 square metre facility in Thornbury to a much larger premises within the next 18 months.

Currently the product is slightly more expensive than traditional packaging - approximately $56 for a 30cm by 30cm insulation tile compared to $49. But Amanda said mycelium is still very cost competitive and is confident it will continue to become even more so when production increases.

“We've got a great agricultural tradition here in Australia, but tonnes and tonnes of organic waste is currently being sent to landfill that we can be using to produce these materials,” she said.

“It does require a combined effort between government councils and businesses like ours to really meet the scale.”

The possibilities of mycelium’s use are endless. Amanda said she plans to start researching and developing solutions for the construction industry in the future.

In the meantime, she finds time to be a part-time sessional lecturer in fashion at RMIT as well as study her master’s degree.

“There's plenty on, just a bit of juggling, but I'm passionate about what we do,” she said.

“It'll be really nice to see the materials take off, and nice already to see the good response that they're having.”

Story: Kate Jones

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