At Grow.bio, we're committed to creating mycelium materials accessible for designers, students, citizen scientists (really anyone!) to use in their homes or classrooms. These mycelium materials are proven alternatives to protective plastics and foam, unlike conventional materials, mycelium contributes positively to our environment.
We are thoughtful about our approach and material sourcing in more ways than meets the eye. Here's how you can feel good about shopping small with Grow.bio:
🐝 Positive Impact In Practice
We don't believe in greenwashing, and while we’re proud to be a biobased material, we focus on genuine environmental stewardship for positive change. Our Grow It Yourself™ material has been used as rafts to restore waterways, form oyster habitats, create bee houses that provide pollinators with a safe home, and much more. The truth is, every project that uses mycelium instead of plastic foam is creating a positive impact! It's your turn to craft a change!
Credit: (Left) @kellyobrienart (Right) @gruenes_wasser PC: @maischa_s
🌊 Home and water compostable
Indoors, mycelium can last over 30+ years under ideal conditions, serving as a carbon sink. Fun fact: hemp can capture more carbon from the atmosphere than trees, and our GIY material is about 90% hemp hurd! Outdoors, the mycelium is naturally hydrophobic and large structures stay standing even in the elements! When incorporated into soil, mycelium composts in just 45 days, or 180 days when it enters waterways. When it’s purpose is through, mycelium positively impacts the soil and is a nutrient, not a pollutant.
⚡️ Low-Energy Production Process
We often get asked on the inputs and outputs in our production process. The CO2 outputs from our production are nominal, primarily from the respiration of the mycelium. Mycelium grows ambiently, requiring low energy and low pressure, resulting in minimal pollution. By growing in volume, we're able to reduce waste further. As a bonus, our warehouse uses hydroelectricity produced by Green Island’s hydro dam.
🌱 Choosing Compostables Over Plastics
We prioritize compostable materials whenever possible in our production process. Our mini mushroom bags are biodegradable, we use compostable stickers, and ship with brown paper and boxes, just to name a few examples. We are not perfect and are always seeking solutions and improvements in our materials to continue to practice what we preach.
♻️ Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Full transparency! Our growth forms are made from PETG plastic, which is the easiest plastic to recycle. We reuse our growth forms hundreds of times until they break, and then we recycle them. We encourage our customers to do the same, and if you don’t want to use plastic, we share ways to make a growth form with found objects at home! Reuse and upcycling is a great way to minimize waste and conserve resources.
Join the Mycelium Movement
Let's innovate and inspire every day, not just on Earth Day! Think about what you can create with GIY material that replaces single-use plastics or resource-intensive products. Whether it's designing biodegradable garden pots, sustainable furniture, or even eco-friendly toys, your creativity has the power to make a real environmental impact. Join us in rethinking resources and transforming the future, one mycelium project at a time.
Together, we are creating a cleaner, greener planet for future generations!
-Grow.bio Team
