Vogue UK - March 2020

I

f you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big

surprise. Sure, the canopy of leaves is pretty and all, but

take a closer look at what’s underfoot. Mycelium, a vast

network of fungal root structures, runs through the forest

floor, binding all the loose vegetation and fallen scraps of plants

together. And, when you combine this with agricultural waste

from farms, something akin to magic happens – you get

perfectly formed outer packaging for all the glass candles,

skincare bottles and jars that house your precious beauty

products. With the potential to replace polystyrene, card and

paper, which are sometimes treated with chemical finishes

and insoluble inks that make them less environmentally friendly,

mycelium is completely compostable, breaking down into

the soil while slowly releasing nutrients in a mere four weeks.

Although industry trailblazer Ecovative Design’s patented

mycelium technology has existed in America for more

than 10 years – Seed, the US purveyor of probiotic and

prebiotic supplements delivered to your door, for example,

already uses it – it’s new to Britain. Haeckels, the Margate-

based natural skincare brand, pioneered its use here. Now,

Symbiotec is opening an exclusively licensed production plant

in Esher, Surrey, and some familiar names, including Tom

Dixon and Wildsmith Skin, are jumping to use its packaging.

The manufacturing process is simple, relatively cheap and

kind to the earth, too. A mould is made, filled with mycelium,

flour and hemp byproduct (an estimated 500 different types

of farm waste can be used as long as they are plant-based and

not animal-derived) and then left for four to six days, during

which time the mix grows and binds together. It’s then placed

in a kiln to take out the moisture and sterilise the mix, resulting

in a bonded material that is home-compostable.

With local councils often struggling to support the

conditions needed to recycle some other types of

biodegradable packaging – plastic substitute PLA, for

example, requires extremely high temperatures and up to

six months in an industrial facility to break down properly

• this spring might just be the time to start a compost heap.
  Zero waste? We dig it. n

From left: Haeckels Botany Bay Candle, £55; Kelp Bioferment, £22;

Borage Seed Oil, £7.50; Raspberry Seed Oil, £12. Wildsmith Skin

Copper Peptide Cream, £100. Seed Daily Synbiotic Travel Vial,

£38 a month, as part of subscription

BREAK IT DOWN

When it comes to sustainability, the answer

may lie beneath the forest floor. Kathleen Baird-Murray

dissects the eco technology revolutionising

beauty packaging from the ground up.

Photograph by David Abrahams

BEAUTY

WITH THANKS TO THE WILD ROOM

20-03-BTY-Compostable-Beauty_1861753.indd 235 18/12/2019 16:32