Green Pre-Selection 2023

What can we do with the 85 billion garments textile waste going to the dump ever year? Use them as a raw material for the growth of fungus! Fungi are incredible species, capable of feeding on a wide variety of substrates, including toxic ones. The mycelium of fungus (their "root") can be used to create leather like materials. Mycelium was put to grow on a mix of textile (natural and synthetic) and coffee waste, colonized the substrate, feeding from it and partially digesting it. The remaining undigested textile fibers act as a reinforcement of the textile.