What is Mycelium packaging? | What is mycelium and why does it matter? - Nunaïa

What is mycelium packaging?

At Nunaïa we look to the intelligence of nature to provide high-performance active ingredients to solve our skin challenges. With our commitment to become ever more conscious and sustainable, we asked: why not look to the plant world for our packaging?

We are excited to be one of the first companies in the world and the first company in Ireland to use cutting-edge mycelium technology in our new Ground & Glow At-home Ritual Set.

WHAT IS MYCELIUM?

Mycelium is the branching, underground root structure of mushrooms. Known as the ‘wood wide web’, it’s an invisible network beneath our feet where connections and exchanges are happening every second of every day. It has a tremendous intelligence and allows trees and plants to send messages and nutrients to each other. It also captures and stabilises the carbon in soil.

It is the world’s most effective recycler acting like the digestive tract of the forest. It finds dead organic matter and recycles it into nutrients that then fertilise the soil.

WHAT IS MYCELIUM PACKAGING?

Mycelium packaging is a cutting-edge, new sustainable form of packaging. Agricultural by-products such as hemp waste are recycled from farmers. This sustainable agricultural biomass is then combined with mycelium in trays in a controlled growing environment. Over a period of 5 days the mycelium binds the organic matter together acting like a natural glue.

The result is a beautiful and eco-friendly material that is compostable at-home within 45 days. It’s strong yet lightweight and is a sustainable alternative to plastic, polystyrene or other less environmentally friendly packaging options.

WHY CHOOSE MYCELIUM PACKAGING?

With waste and single-use plastic a huge problem across the planet we urgently need sustainable solutions that help solve some of our environmental challenges. We believe mycelium has the potential to completely replace polluting polystyrene and a large amount of the plastics in our ecosystems.

Mycelium packaging is 100% compostable at-home in your compost bin or flower bed in just 45 days, so it doesn’t create any packaging waste. In fact, It’s also bio-contributing which means that it contributes nutrients to the soil when it breaks down.

During it’s grow phase it also requires zero electricity, so uses far less energy than traditional card or paper packaging production.

Mycelium packaging and Nunaïa

As part of our 'Soil to Skin' ethos we're constantly striving to become more sustainable on every level. It was a delight to discover and learn more about magical mycelium and how important it is to our planet. We're excited to use this ground-breaking, carbon negative material in our new Ground & Glow At-home Ritual Set and share the magic of the 'wood wide web' with you.