Stella’s Mushroom Leather
You may be familiar with the classic Stella McCartney Logo shoulder bag: sleek leather with her famous name written in dots. It is simple and chic; a perfect staple. What you may not know, however, is that mushrooms are hanging from your shoulder.
Designer Stella McCartney has been passionate about sustainable fashion for her entire career and is a powerful force pushing for a more sustainable fashion industry. Since its establishment in 2001, Stella McCarney has never used animal hides or fur and has instead invested in sustainable, modern materials like Mylo. But before I explain how mushrooms are turned into her bags, let me tell you about why you need to stop buying leather.
Genuine leather is a $100 billion industry and the demand continues to be high. Leather, apart from inflicting animal cruelty, is not biodegradable and is treated with toxic chemicals. First, rain forests are destroyed to make space to raise cattle and other animals for hides. Once the animal has been skinned, the leather begins the lengthy and energy and chemical intensive processes such as tanning, rolling, and dying. For our sake, the leather is actually treated with salt so as to keep it from ever decomposing… meaning it will sit in a landfill for hundreds of years. The tanning process is spurring massive heavy metal runoff into aquatic ecosystems, causing a loss of biodiversity and toxic waterways.
Stella became frustrated with how little information there was on the leather making process, so she invested in recycled polyester, a material that has a carbon footprint 24 times smaller than that of cow hides. In an effort to “incorporate as many circular materials as possible into [her] collections,” Stella uses a material called ECONYL, which has eliminated almost 10 tons of nylon in landfills. Her brand collaborates with environmental groups, including Parley for the Oceans whose mission is to prevent aquatic plastic pollution.
She now also works with a company called Mylo, that has engineered a leather-like material out of “the vegetative part of a fungus” called mycelium. Mycelium is the stringy part of the mushroom that thrives beneath the Earth’s surface. Mycelium can grow on a sheet of sawdust in just two weeks; it can be cultivated from agricultural waste as well, making it an abundant, sustainable material. Mushroom leather is a “closed-loop” product, meaning that it repurposes post-consumer waste and combines it with mycelium to create the material. Once you are tired of your Falabella bag, no worries, because it will biodegrade and complete the loop. Another benefit of using mushroom leather is that cutting waste is reduced significantly, since Mylo can be grown and shaped to a designer’s desire.
Stella has joined with companies such as Bolt Threads to encourage the consumption of Mylo, so that it may eventually replace all genuine leather used by designers. Companies such as Adidas and Lululemon have also invested in it. But, there is still progress to be made. McCartney reports that her brand is taxed 30% more for importing a non-leather product into the U.S. She says, “If I had a sliver of pig leather on there, the tax would disappear.” Additionally, Mylo and other mushroom products do not come cheap. In order to complete a revolution in the leather-world, the material must be more accessible.
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