With the textile industry attributed to emitting more greenhouse gases than international shipping and aviation combined, a company called NEFFA has decided to take a more sustainable route by developing a biodegradable textile made from the vegetative part of a fungus called mycelium.
“We are looking into changing material and production techniques, instead of changing human behavior,” said NEFFA in a statement. “We believe this is easier than changing our consumption behavior, as this behavior is older than our production techniques.”
Called MycoTEX, clothing made from the biodegradable textile is decomposable and as flexible as traditional fabrics. The growth patterns of mycelium also make MycoTEX garments easily customizable.
MycoTEX garments are produced using body-based modelling, ensuring that the clothes fit the consumer’s body perfectly without the need for any cutting and sewing. This process also eliminates any excess waste. Using NEFFA’s lab-based growing process, only the necessary amount of mycelium is grown.
Both the fashion and scientific communities have taken notice of Hoitink’s innovation. In May of this year, the H&M Foundation awarded MycoTEX the Global Change Award. Since then, the textile and production technique has been featured in the Fungal Futures and the Future of Living Materials exhibit and is currently part of the WEARsustain project. The European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program has also awarded NEFFA with a grant.
“In ten years’ time, I hope to have a collection on the market,” said Hoitink. “We want to have what we call the ‘Fashion Company of the Future.'”
To learn more about MycoTEX, click the link below.
