Producing leather-like materials from fungi

Leather-like materials from fungi have considerable potential especially in terms of sustainability. Alexander Bismarck) - Biofabrication includes upcycling of low-cost agricultural and forestry by-products Leather is used as a durable and flexible material in many aspects of everyday life including furniture and clothing. Leather substitutes derived from fungi are considered to be an ethical and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional bovine leather. An international team led by material chemists Alexander Bismarck and Mitchell Jones from the University of Vienna demonstrate the considerable potential of these renewable sustainable fabrics derived from fungi in their latest review article in "Nature Sustainability". Traditional leather and its alternatives are typically obtained from animals and synthetic polymers. Leather can be considered a co-product of meat production with both livestock farming and the leather production process increasingly considered to be ethically questionable and environmentally unfriendly (e.g. deforestation for grazing, greenhouse gas emissions, use of hazardous substances in the tanning process).