Nearly every retail product that we purchase today arrives in packaging. 50% of the materials that are used are plastic. There are various benefits of plastic including the fact that it is both lightweight and durable. However, it is important to remember that despite boosting a products shelf life, it does have a long-lasting negative impact on the environment. As such, companies are now turning their attention to green packaging options and one possibility is mushroom packaging.
Mushroom-based packaging material is both natural and biodegradable. As such, it can help any business be greener. It can also be grown quickly in a controlled environment within just one week. It also takes just one week to decompose so it is perfect for natural recycling.
Many businesses already use mushroom packaging for their products. For instance, IKEA now uses it instead of Styrofoam to package all their products. Styrofoam takes hundreds of years to decompose, while mushroom packaging takes less than a month.
You might think that the packaging will not provide the same benefits as Styrofoam. However, the packaging does have the same insulation and flame-resistant properties, making it ideal for use in logistics and the stockroom.
How Is Mushroom Packaging Created?
Mushroom packaging can be manufactured in a way that is fairly straightforward. Agricultural byproducts including oat hulls, cotton burrs and husk are moulded into a specific shape that can be fitted around the items to be packaged. These are then seeded with mushroom spores, which then grow mycelium. The root structure forms after just a few days spreading through the structure to bind it together and ensure that it is completely shock resistant.
Once this has occurred, heat is applied to ensure that spores are killed and stop the continued growth of the fungus.
Benefits of This Packaging
If you are keen to go green in your business, then this is going to be the right choice for you. This type of packaging can be manufactured with just 12% of the energy it takes to create plastic and 90% fewer carbon emissions are produced during this process. Indeed, the total level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere remains virtually unchanged by this process. That’s because the fungi involved in the process actually uses the carbon dioxide and then when it decomposes, this returns to the soil. It is a complete process. Animals can even ingest it and suffer no side effects at all.
This is going to take a large section of the industry. Indeed, according to research, on the global market, sustainable packaging industries could reach a total of $142 billion before the end of the next decade. It is expected that the plastic market meanwhile will be nearly eradicated in terms of use for packaging.
As such, you can certainly benefit from using mushroom packaging and it will help your business. It is even comparatively cheaper compared to plastic packaging while providing the same benefits. This means that you can cut costs and maintain the quality of the packaging for your products. To consider our current offering on eco-products take a look at our Earth Save range here.