Bolt Threads Is Using Mushrooms Cells To Make Bags Of The Future That Feel Like Leather

Our earth is dying, a well-known fact that everyone either is oblivious to or refuses to acknowledge in the name of capitalism.

We have been living in a fast-fashion world since the inception of mass production. To think that before the industrial revolution, all things were bespoke and handmade.

Bolt Threads is a company that makes sustainable materials with fungus and yeast. Mylo™ is a leather-like material that is made from Mycelium, the branching underground structure of mushrooms. Mycelium cells are then engineered to be made into a soft yet durable material that is biodegradable and can replace real and synthetic leather.

As Mylo™ can be produced in days, the process itself already minimises environmental impact.

Bolt Threads already has a commercially available product that made its way into the market in 2018, following a fully-funded Kickstarter campaign in October the same year.

With the technological revolution, fashion has mostly focused on bringing its brands online in the past 2 decades. Perhaps given the shifts in attitudes towards waste and education towards climate change, the 2020s will be the decade where technology and fashion work together to change perceptions and work towards sustainability as an industry standard.

Sadly, as the campaign has ended, it seems that the Driver Bag is no longer for sale.

Bolt Threads | Website | Kickstarter