By chance I was able to connect with Marc Violo one icy winter day in Portland, OR. Marc created the platform MycoStories to support pioneers harnessing the power of fungi to address the most pressing issues of our time. The platform presents the latest fungi research, business updates and art projects. The ecosystem he has created of the fungi industry is centered around the environment, food, materials and health.

We had the opportunity to discuss the importance of working with the fruits of the fungi kingdom in order to transform the dye, textile and fashion industry, orienting ourselves towards more renewable, ecologically sensitive and sustainable practices.

It is this industry that is responsible for getting us dressed each day that creates around 10% of global CO2 emissions, more than international flights and maritime shipping combined. The textile industry is responsible for polluting about 20% of global clean water and washing synthetic products has caused more than 14 million tons of microplastics to accumulate on the bottom of the oceans. It is an industry that can immensely benefit from fungi with scientists, chemists and mycologists at the cusp of growing fungi for color at scale!

I was honored that early on in the MycoStories platform development they featured the Mushroom Color Atlas and I look forward to continued discussion about this very important topic.