Mycelium packaging is made by packing hemp hurd or wood chips into a mould, letting fungal mycelium grow through it for about a week, then heat-drying it to stop growth. The result is a rigid, cushioning foam shaped to the product.
It replaces expanded polystyrene (EPS) and polyethylene foam inserts, coolers and insulation panels. Ecovative (US) developed the MycoComposite process and licenses it to regional growers under the Mushroom Packaging brand, so material can be grown near the point of use. Dell has shipped servers in mycelium since 2011 and IKEA has removed EPS from all its flat packs, cutting about 8,000 tonnes of EPS a year using fibre, cardboard and mycelium alternatives.
A peer-reviewed life-cycle assessment (LCA) (Zoungrana, Hausner and Yuan, Discover Sustainability, 2025) modelled packaging for a 32-inch television and found 1.32 kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) for mycelium against 3.35 kg CO2e for EPS, with mycelium winning in most impact categories. Its higher density raises transport emissions, which is the main category where it loses. It is home compostable and breaks down in soil within weeks.
Drawbacks: heavier than EPS; a 7 to 10 day grow cycle; sensitive to moisture and humidity; limited to protective and cushioning shapes; not suitable for wet food contact. Cost: the vendor says it is cost-competitive with petroleum foam, but independent trade analysis says EPS is still cheaper per unit at mass scale, with local growing reducing the freight penalty.