In a recent study titled ‘Reactive fungal wearable‘, researchers explore the use of fungi as a potential candidate to produce sustainable textiles that can be used as eco-friendly bio wearables, for instance, the processors in tech wearables like Fitbits could be replaced by incorporating mushroom mycelium.

The joint research venture undertaken by the University of the West of England, Bristol, the U.K. (UWE Bristol) and collaborators from Mogu S.r.l., Italy, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Torino, Italy and the Faculty of Computer Science, Multimedia and Telecommunications of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has assessed the sensing potential of fungal wearables.

The researchers of the study conducted several laboratory experiments on the electrical response of a hemp fabric captured by oyster fungi by attaching it to computer sensors and stimulating it with attractants and repellents.

Wearable devices require complex and sophisticated circuits that connect to sensors having at least some computing power, thus making them ‘smart’.

Oyster mushroom mycelium, the fibrous mainframe tissues of fungi that populate under the soil and from which mushrooms sprout was able to perceive several external stimuli like light, temperature, and moisture, as well as certain chemicals in the environment, and even electrical signals in a way that imitates the same function for sensors and processors.

To explain this concept further, we use an example of a heart rate monitor, and using the study’s findings, the mushroom’s perceptions of the environment would become the data that gives you the beats-per-minute count on this device.

Please read the full article here.
Source: Green Queen

Lead image – Experimental setup, courtesy of ‘Reactive fungal wearable’ study.

At the beginning of this year, EuroMycel welcomed a new sales manager to their team, Jeroen Dunant. He has a broad experience in sales within the green industry.

Jeroen is responsible for the North European market, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany,
United Kingdom and Ireland. His main focus is to explore new markets and develop new opportunities for the mycelium products. In particular for the E58 premium mycelium for the fresh mushroom market and the E58 HD for the mechanized market. EuroMycel is a French company that produces mycelium situated in Touraine, home of the royal chateaux of France and cradle of the Champignon de Paris.

In 2010 EuroMycel was taken over by the Bonduelle Group, which enabled them to invest and develop new equipment and laboratories. EuroMycel is a strong player in the Bonduelle Group with a 2,7 miljard revenue last year. The director of the company, Frédéric Mathieu, reports directly to Bonduelles’ management and is therefore able to make quick decisions and direct the growth even more efficiently.

Jeroen works intensively with growers and compost companies. To sell the mycelium, but also invest in tests with the compost companies to improve the quality of compost in the growing companies.

If you have any questions for Jeroen, you can contact him via:

Jeroen Dunant
Sales Manager Northern Europe
Tel: (+31) 6 82183632
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.euromycel.com

Do you wonder where your clothes come from? The material they're made of and how they are produced? Most of us don't, but if we did, we might get a bit uneasy. Now, research is helping the fashion industry take the lead in embracing the circular economy.

If you take an inventory of your closet, chances are you’ll have several garments made at least partly of polyester and nylon. These two low-cost textiles are staples of fast-fashion and currently make up about 60% of clothing and 70% of household textiles.

Polyester and nylon are synthetic fossil fuel-based fibres, meaning they are derived from oil and natural gas. The production of these fibres, their dominant position in the fashion industry, and the fact that they are not biodegradable, means that they have a huge impact on our environment. They also contain harmful microplastics that make their way into every conceivable corner of our land, oceans and waterways.

As a natural fibre, cotton is more easily recycled and requires fewer fossil fuels for its production compared to nylon, for example. However, the cotton industry demands mass land areas for cultivation; worldwide, cotton crops are sprayed with the most chemicals; and, finally, growing cotton requires vast amounts of water.

Where does this leave us? Please read the full article here.

Source: Horizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine

A Gisborne entrepreneur will soon open the region’s first “zero waste, grow your own mushroom” business that focuses on reusing waste products.

Mariska Van Gaalen is the founder of Mushroom Zero Waste an initiative that reuses plastic containers and waste materials to grow mushrooms in a sustainable way.

She says that for her to start a business meant being responsible for the entire life cycle of the product, and avoiding the production of any additional waste.

Ms Van Gaalen uses plastic containers collected from a restaurant to hold unused wooden shavings, coffee grounds and mycelium — the fungus — to grow native oyster mushrooms.

Please read the full article here.

Source: Gisborneherald, by Avneesh Vincent

The last month several growers had problems with a too heavy casing soil. It is normal for this time of the year for casing soil to be heavier because of rainfall on the peat fields. It takes a few weeks for the casing companies to sort this out and in the mean time the grower has to deal with this. A normal situation for this period. Complaining is not the way to deal with this but inter acting is possible.

The first thing to do is to recognize that the casing ís heavy. This can only be observed if good attention is given to the filling of the room. Always talk to the truck driver about compost and casing and you already know a lot. They know exactly what material they carry. If they say it is a heavy load and if water is coming out the first thing to do is to adjust the filling machine. Heavy casing soil packs more so it has to be opened up. The caccing spinner on the combine filling machine plays a big role in this. It has to pick up the compost and mix it well into the casing. Cac a bit more than normal if casing soil is heavy. The next step is to make the mixing spinner turn a bit slower. Too intensive mixing will destroy the structure and cause big problems in outgrow of the pins later on. The pressing roll should be adjusted that way that it does not close the holes in the casing. If you look at the roller from the side of the shelf, a little bit of light should be visible between roller and casing.

Then be careful with water on the first day. Make sure the caccing material starts growing. This can be seen by the attachment of the compost to the casing. Do not wait however till you really see the mycelium. Because then the time for watering can be too short. And mycelium will overgrow the casing. The normal amount of water can be given minus a few litres. (the water on day one). It is a good thing if watering gifts can be split into small doses. 1 litre at a time with intervals of at least 1 hour. Only on the first watering day (probably day 2 after filling) bigger gifts are possible.

The next thing that might happen is that the mycelium has difficulties growing to the surface. Remember, a heavy casing soil needs help to release water and CO2 so always make sure that fresh air is given to the room. A minimum of 5% fresh air most of the times helps a lot. If the mycelium has reached the surface generally the fructification is normal. The only difference is from day 7 to day 10 of the fructification. From that day 7, the pins might stagger in outgrow. At that moment again fresh air is needed to keep the evaporation going. A minimum of 5% might not be enough anymore. If you see pins but they do not grow out you have a few possibilities.
A drop of water as a shock. This means 0,5 litre of water and mild drying with heating and fresh air. Fan can be set up to 5% higher in speed.

Or you can drop the CO2 to about 1000 ppm for a day. But make sure that RH stays over 88% in this case.Overall the growing later on will be on a bit lower CO2 than normal to keep evaporation going. Watering as normal. The biggest mistake made is to keep rooms like this too dry. Be aware that the room might develop less pins than normal. Let them grow out and pay special attention to the picking. This way these rooms do not have to be any worse. On the contrary, often they are better (in a financial way) than normal.

Adidas has announced it’s launching a line of sneakers made from mushroom-based leather.

As part of a 2021 sustainability initiative from Europe’s largest sportswear manufacturer, the new Stan Smiths will be entirely vegan, and created using mycelium: that is, the vegetative part of fungi that produces mushrooms.

On December 28, the German multinational announced that “adidas seeks to break new ground: Together with partners, adidas is developing a new material, a purely biological leather alternative made from mycelium, and will use it for the very first time in the creation of footwear.”

This isn’t the company’s first foray into vegan footwear. In 2020, Adidas launched plant-based versions of several classic sneakers, which quickly became bestsellers. Now it’s completely renounced the use of fur in all products, and it’s working with partners on other sustainability projects that include recycling cotton and developing a “particularly climate-friendly running shoe” as part of a drive that will see 60% of all Adidas products in 2021 being made with sustainable materials.

Please read the full article here.

Source: Good News Network

Designer Nina Bruun shapes biotech firm Grown's mushroom-based material for the safe carriage of Astep lighting.

One of the key aims of Wallpaper* Re-Made is to re-think the way we consume, and packaging is a crucial link in this story. Last year, a chat with Alessandro Sarfatti led to a discussion about what he perceived to be an important problem. Coming from a family of lighting experts (he is the grandson of design legend Gino Sarfatti, of Arteluce, see W* 218 and son of Luceplan founder Riccardo Sarfatti), and founder of a lighting brand himself, he is well aware of the amount of plastic needed to transport lighting pieces.

Sarfatti, who used to be CEO of Luceplan, founded Astep in 2014, intent on creating lighting products with contemporary designs and innovative technologies to improve our domestic experience and quality of life.

Please read the full article here.

Photography: Mikkel Vigholt Petersen
Writer: Rosa Bertoli

EuroMycel are experts in industrial microbiology applied to selecting and propagating mushroom mycelium cultures.
The French biotechnology laboratory, EuroMycel, is part of Bonduelle Group and benefits from its international reputation.

EuroMycel’s laboratory is also part of an 100% integrated industry with expertise throughout the mushroom production process, from start to finish. EuroMycel laboratory’s main focus is the selection and propagation of Agaricus mushroom strains and the creation of unique products.

In a rapidly changing mushroom world, EuroMycel are strong players and are holding their own, all thanks to their know-how. From the way they have managed to differentiate their breeding strategy, to the quality of their varieties through to their organisational flexibility.

The company has several different strains, but two of them are first class showpieces.
• First, the strain E21, developed for mechanised harvesting. It is the undisputed leader in sales, in France, and has rapidly gained popularity in The Netherlands and Belgium over the last 3 years.
• Second, and most promising, the strain E58 Premium, developed for the fresh market. It is the sales leader in Poland, and it has been very quickly adopted and mastered by Russian mushroom producers. Devoted to and customised for the fresh food market, its qualities include its ability to move towards larger, slower-growing mushrooms, and its keen water holding capacity. It is an accomplished and leading strain, ahead of the game.

Spawn connected with your success.