A company that makes a replacement leather material from mushroom roots is hoping to sprout new collaborations in Australia.
Indonesian firm Mycotech Lab is promoting its product Mylea as an alternative textile to animal-based leathers in the fashion industry.
It is made from an underground body of threads called mycelium that grows mushrooms, similar to how other plants grow from roots.
Stella McCartney is one high-end luxury brand using mycelium-based leather in its designs, as a move to boycott animal-based materials.
"The mycelium material has the potential to be grown anywhere," said Ronaldiaz Hartantyo, a co-founder of Mycotech Lab which is operating in Indonesia, Japan and Singapore.
The company hosted a Melbourne Fashion Week exhibition called Wear The Fungi with several other Indonesian brands, showcasing designer collections that use the mycelium leather as the base material for vests, shoes, bags and other accessories such as card wallets.
Mr Hartantyo hopes similar opportunities will allow for networking in Australia and further introduce the company to the local market.
"We are still looking for a local Australian brand to collaborate with us and use our materials," Mr Hartantyo said.
The mycelium material undergoes a process of development that is carefully watched and corrected to increase growth from the foundational layer.
The mycelium base, grown through the reuse of farming and land waste, is able to grow in different thicknesses that help customise the textured material and give it a leather-like feel and appearance.
In the final stages of creating the end product, the leather is then refined until it meets a reliable standard of quality.
Mycotech is aiming to increase the use of the mycelium leather to a global scale, through more international collaborations with research institutions and fashion labels.
"We want to create a decentralised production process rather than one large production process in Indonesia (that is then shipped) all across the globe," Mr Hartantyo said, adding it would help limit the carbon footprint.
The fashion industry is responsible for five to eight per cent of annual climate emissions, according to the Fashion Supply Chain Emissions Report published by advocacy group Stand.earth in November 2022.
Mycelium leather is also being woven into other industries, with Korean auto brand Kia designing a concept version of its EV3 electric model with the mushroom-based material featuring in its sustainable interior.
