What is neither a plant nor an animal, has over 1.5 million different varieties, is the most prolific recycler in the world and can be used to make everything from coffee to lampshades?
Mushrooms.
Their roots, called Mycelium, to be precise.
Seedlip’s mycelium gift set with Seedlip Spice 94 and a recycled glass Highball is not only bio-contributing, but contributes to growing a more inclusive space within nature through our Purchase wth a Purpose Program to further support our 1% for the Planet partner, WeGotNext.
We know many of you must be thinking ‘myceli-what?’ This handy breakdown of Mycelium 101 will hopefully help to explain the real magic in this mushroom packaging, and how it can help solve the issue of single-use plastic.
So, what is Mycelium?
Mycelium is the largest organism on the planet.
It is the branching, underground, root-like structure of mushrooms that enables the plants to communicate with one another and exchange nutrients.
You can think of it as Nature’s internet. An invisible network where connections, links and exchanges are happening unnoticed beneath our feet.
Mycelium is also Nature’s biggest recycler. It breaks down toxins, such as plastic or oil, turning them into available nourishment to help other living organisms thrive.
As it consumes organic matter and contaminating substances, mycelium branches out, quickly creating a web of thread-like filaments [hyphae]. These quick-growing filaments are what makes mycelium an efficient packaging solution. It takes around seven days to grow our mycelium packaging – and, then, approximately 40 days for them to biodegrade.
How does Mycelium technology work?
We have Magical Mushroom Company to thank for the mycelium technology that makes this package possible. The process starts by upcycling natural crop fibres, such as corn husks and hemp, that are of no further use to regional farmers. Applying the same natural process that occurs in Nature, the mycelium works to break down these natural fibres. In doing so, they form their characteristic web of durable thread-like filaments that can be shaped and directed into various types of product packaging. This occurs inside an environmentally controlled vertical grow system within a matter of a week.
The result is a fully biodegradable, recyclable and compostable alternative to petroleum-based polymers in traditional packaging. It’s both lightweight and durable, as well as moisture and fire resistant. And, no, it does not mean your Seedlip gift set will sprout mushrooms at any point.
MY ROOTS: SEEDLIP x WEGOTNEXT
We chose the Seedlip Spice 94 & Highball Set as the focus product for Purchase wth a Purpose to celebrate roots – the connectors of nature. Roots are not only defined as nature’s nourishment and communication tool through different plant species, but as the experiences, people, and connections that grow us into who we are as individuals. Just as spreading these mushroom roots after opening your Seedlip Spice 94 & Highball contributes to our planet, this set contributes to WeGotNext brilliant work of amplifying stories of underrepresented communities within the nature space through their ambassadors’ projects. We share WeGotNext’s vision of a world where everyone sees a reflection of themselves in nature. We created the first installment of our My Roots campaign to explore several of their ambassadors’ stories of the roots that connect them to nature. Click here to learn more.
