Goodbye, Mushroom® Packaging
Consistent Growth Brings New Partnerships
Announcing opening of Paradise Packaging Co. and new licensees around the globe
NOTE: This blog post was initially written January 20, 2020 and contains information that may be out of date.
YOUR SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING SOLUTION
Have you ever thought about how awesome it would be if your delivered packages came with sustainable, earth-friendly, home compostable packaging? Well, Ecovative is about to make your dreams come true! You may already know that Ecovative has been manufacturing our totally radical Mushroom® Packaging (aka MycoComposite™) from our Upstate New York facility - but are you aware that we have licensees around the world bringing our styrofoam alternative to households internationally! Imagine the satisfaction of opening your latest tech purchase or sweet-smelling candle and placing the packaging in your yard to nourish the earth. Peace-out waste stream, Mushroom® Packaging is non-traditional. It’s 100% made from unadulterated materials that come from nature. Our main ingredients are mycelium and hemp, grown in a traditional method used by mushroom farmers for centuries. If you don’t love mycelium already, we’re about to change that.
MYCELIUM IS A SUPER MATERIAL
Our passionate belief that mycelium, often regarded as nature’s internet because it allows the plants and mushrooms to communicate and even transfer nutrients, is nature’s technology that will save the world… that’s right, we said it - SAVE THE WORLD... through a variety of industries that notoriously contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, we are diligently exploring all of mycelium’s applications.
Mycelium can be grown to any geometry with little energy because it naturally self-assembles into structures at room temperature. Growing at room temperature gives mycelium the environmental advantage over traditional, toxic, bad-for-the-planet petroleum-based foams that not only never degrade but consume massive amounts of energy to make. - Did we mention the minimal amounts of water and agricultural waste mycelium feeds on to grow? Sounding pretty ideal right? - Consuming minimal amounts of our planet’s finite resources and containing zero man-made chemicals is just what we need these days to create the healthy and happy planet we all are hoping for, let’s not forget mycelium is a nutrient and protein-rich food source too; however, that is for another day and article (but if you just can’t wait and want more info on food from fungi you can peek at our spin-off company Atlast Food Co).
GROWING AROUND THE WORLD
Here at Ecovative Design, we are combining the old with the new – we are taking our Mushroom® Packaging that has been in our facility for nearly a decade and transferring our production equipment to a facility 4x the size in Paradise, California. This partnership with Paradise Packaging Co provides the opportunity to exponentially increase the annual output of home compostable packaging in the US that our eco-conscious consumers demand. And we aren’t just excited to announce our new US-based partnership. For two years Ecovative has licensed our MycoComposite™ technology to Krown Design, located in the Netherlands; this dynamic partnership was the beginning of cost-effective delivery and manufacturing to businesses, industrial designers and architects throughout Europe. But they aren’t the only producer in the European Union anymore - our newest licensee is located in the UK. Symbiotec is joining the ranks of MycoComposite™ manufacturers with their soon to be launched Magical Mushroom Company! - Think we are out of licensee announcements? Not quite yet! We even have licensees in Israel and Lebanon bringing MycoComposite™ to Western Asia, Northern Africa, and Southern Europe. Ecovative receives dozens of licensing inquiries a week. If you don’t see your location listed currently you can be sure Mushroom® Packaging will be available in your region soon.
Ecovative Design has experienced substantial and consistent growth for the past few years and is on the cusp of expanding our world-class mycelium research with a brand new Mycelium Foundry One. This R&D focus has created the opportunity to pass the torch of our MycoComposite™ technology to partners around the world to help create more sustainable consumerism; let’s face it, we all need shiny new things delivered to our front door sometimes. So goodbye Mushroom® Packaging, you will always be our first innovation-baby but it is time for you to leave the nest and share your amazing Earth-saving talents with the world.
PS: During the fact-checking of this post, I was told by our Director of Business Development that we are bringing on another international licensee in Australia and New Zealand.
Like what you read? Follow us online and subscribe to our newsletter below to follow our sustainability journey.
-Lacey