Next time you buy something online, it may just arrive in packaging made of… mushrooms? That’s right, as a way to combat the growing landfills and excessive use of fossil fuels, a new packaging solution has been created.
Known as Ecocradle, this mushroom-based material is made of fungus roots and residues from farming. It was developed by Ecovative Design in 2010 as an alternative to its environmentally damaging counterpart: polystyrene styrofoam, but can also replace all of the plastic materials used in current conventional packaging.
Using mushroom’s inherent growth power, the packaging can be manufactured and broken down with minimal energy use. Ecocradle can be grown in a controlled environment without light, water, or chemical additives in a week. It can then decompose in compost within weeks!
This incredible mushroom-based packaging garnered global attention when furniture giant, IKEA, announced its plans to replace all its styrofoam packaging with EcoCradle in 2016. The major switch began in 2018 and is still being carried out globally.