Ecovative’s materials start on a farm, with the parts of plants that cannot be used for food or feed and therefore have limited or no economic value. We strive to utilize only renewable, regional raw materials.

A patented process cleans and prepares a blend of agricultural byproducts, and inoculates it with mycelium. You can think of this process as planting the mushroom tissue. There are never any spores involved. This inoculated mixture is filled evenly into forms in an automated process.

Then, the real magic happens. The mycelium grows indoors in about a week without any need for light, watering or petrochemical inputs. It’s like a vertical farm for mushroom materials. The beauty of this process is that we grow the shape you need.

Every cubic inch of material contains a matrix of 8 miles of tiny mycelial fibers! At the end of the process, we put the materials through a dehydration and heat treating process to stop the growth. This final process ensures that there will never be any spores or allergen concerns.