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Material innovation startup Bolt Threads says its mycelium leather alternative, Mylo, made from mushrooms, is in greater demand than it can supply as more fashion brands experiment with material alternatives. Now, it’s using that leverage to incentivise brands to give up virgin leather.
The new initiative, called the Greener Pastures Pledge, will give the brands who vow to give up virgin leather preferential access to Mylo. It’s backed by Ganni, which launched a wallet with Mylo in June and joined the announcement made today by Bolt Threads CEO and co-founder Dan Widmaier at the Web Summit in Lisbon. The brand has spent the year trialling alternative materials and committed to eliminating all virgin leather from its supply chain — Bolt Threads decided to create the preferred access structure based on that announcement.
The pledge challenges the stance of many fashion brands that alternative materials can be used alongside virgin materials, in order to give customers more options rather than eliminate the production of non-sustainable materials. Offering both Mylo products and real leather products means that virgin leather production does not diminish, but is rather merely complemented by an alternative. Brands can then sell both products without changing their existing supply chains. Experts have been clear that only by eliminating or solving an existing problem can material innovations help to reduce fashion’s impacts. Otherwise, they may be more efficient than their conventional counterparts, but they are still going to add to the net impact of the industry.
Bolt Threads did not say if it will exclusively work with brands who take the pledge going forward, or how they will ensure that the pledge is followed. “Since this process takes time, there is no timeframe requirement to be met — only the true intention and public commitment to phasing out or eliminating virgin leather from their supply chain,” says Widmaier. But, the message is clear: the company wants to reward those who are taking meaningful steps to reduce their use of virgin materials, resource-intensive leather in particular.
“We are actively in the process of scaling up our Mylo material, including moving into our commercial facility in the Netherlands that will have the capacity to produce millions of square feet in the coming years,” Widmaier says. “While we can't confirm the number of brands we could supply material for at this time, one of the great perks of the pledge is to gain preferential access to Mylo material despite the current high demand.”
Mylo is part of the fast-growing material innovation category that’s aimed at developing lower-impact alternatives to conventional materials to help fashion brands meet their sustainability goals. Leather is a key target both for climate reasons, as it’s a top source of greenhouse gas emissions in the fashion supply chain and contributes to the ongoing deforestation in the Amazon, as well as to meet the growing consumer demand for vegan fashion. While most leather alternatives of the past were made from plastic, materials like Mylo — and Reishi from Mycoworks, Forager from Ecovative, Ephea from Sqim and Mirum from Natural Fiber Welding, among others — are turning to bio-based sources in their quest to replace animal hides.
Most brands working with such materials do so on an experimental basis to increase their appeal with vegan consumers, in some cases, or with the intent to scale its use being contingent on factors such as quality or cost. Brands including Balenciaga, Ralph Lauren, Reformation and Tommy Hilfiger parent company PVH are all experimenting with, or funding the development of, different materials. Hermès is partnering with Mycoworks but at the same time is reinvesting in its leather supply chain.
To Ganni founder Nicolaj Reffstrup, the commitment to move away from leather wasn’t an easy decision for the brand from a financial perspective, but the choice was clear. Leather products account for 9 per cent of the brand’s sales, he says, but have a higher carbon footprint than any other material.
“Although highly profitable, phasing out virgin animal leather by 2023 is a no-brainer if we want to reach our 50 per cent absolute carbon reduction target by 2027. It’s our job to source and invest in low-carbon solutions, like Mylo, that aren’t just at par with traditional product offerings but exceed them,” he says. “For that to happen, brands need to place bets and take risks.“
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