Imagine sitting in a chair made from fungus. Would it be squidgy and soft? Would it smell earthy, like soil, or musty like a forest after a summer downpour? Most important, would it survive the knocks of daily domestic life?
These are the questions Maurizio Montalti, an Italian designer based in Amsterdam, is trying to address. He uses mycelium, the “root structure of fungus”, combined with agricultural waste such as wheat, rapeseed and flax, to grow a new material — and then turns it into furniture.
Montalti says he is driven by environmental responsibility to “combat the very severe and dramatic impact of synthetic materials”. The latest WWF Living Planet report revealed a 60 per cent decline of wildlife populations in four decades due to pollution and habitat loss. Combine this with David Attenborough’s stirring narration over footage of seas choked with plastic and suddenly it seems demand for sustainable materials is, well, mushrooming. According to not-for-profit consultancy Ethical Consumer, the sale of ethical products and services in the UK is valued at £83.3bn and has grown by more than £40bn since 2008.