Fun guys can keep the sun off with MycoWorks’ new mycelium-based hats

Disclosure: AFN’s parent company, AgFunder, is an investor in MycoWorks.

• MycoWorks, a US startup developing alternative biomaterials based on mycelium, has launched a line of hats made from its Reishi alt-leather product in partnership with Los Angeles-based milliner Nick Fouquet.
• The three mycelium leather hats in the line are the Boletus, a bucket hat made of Reishi and a different material lining, retailing at $810; along with the fedora-style Coprinus ($875) and Morchella ($1,725), which each feature Reishi as trimming.
• Fouquet told Vogue that the material is “indistinguishable” from conventional, animal-derived leather when it comes to hatmaking.

Why it matters:

Last year, Emeryville, California-based MycoWorks announced its first big-name collaboration, partnering with luxury goods brand Hermès to create a travel handbag made from Reishi.

While the material shows “a 95% reduction in carbon emissions as compared to the average cowhide, it is important to note that there are other attributes that matter in the conversation: for example, end-of-life and biodegradability, and keeping our material plastic-free,” MycoWorks CEO Matt Scullin told Vogue.

It’s also tanned using plant-based substances rather than conventional chemicals, lowering its environmental impact.

MycoWorks commissioned a third-party life-cycle assessment into Reishi’s sustainability profile of the material which is now being peer-reviewed, Scullin added.

The startup’s most recent fundraise was its Series C round in January, which saw it secure $125 million from investors including Prime Movers Lab, Innovation Fund, Mirabaud Lifestyle Impact, and SK Capital Partners,