SENSEX
NIFTY
GOLD
USD/INR

Weather

image 30    C

Science & Environment News

Phys.org

Science & Environment / Phys.org

details

Your next handbag could start with mushrooms

The search for leather alternatives has led researchers somewhere unexpected: fungi. Although traditional leather is durable, producing it requires animal agriculture, which carries negative environmental impacts. Meanwhile, vegan alternatives are typically made from petroleum-based plastics that are difficult to recycle. Researchers report in ACS Applied Bio Materials that mycelium, the underground network of fibers below mushroom caps, can be pressed into a durable yet compostable leather-like fabric. They even sewed the fabric into a purse.

6 Aug 2026 8:10 pm