The European Parliament has voted for an extensive ban on single-use plastics to stop pollution from entering the world’s oceans. Fragments of this and other toxic materials and adhesives spread around the globe everywhere from Arctic sea ice to our farmland. With the ban comes the acknowledgement that responsible consumption and recycling are not enough to safeguard the future of our planet. Lium Labs is an advanced sustainable material project developing high volume manufacturing technologies to facilitate the broad adoption of mycelium-based materials in packaging, furniture and construction industries. Mycelium is the root like fibrous material mushrooms grow from. It’s composed mostly of chitin, the structural polymer found in the exoskeletons of crustaceans insects and the shells of molluscs. Our goal is to respond to sustainable markets demand to provide biodegradable, fire resistant, light and beautifully finished materials to replace paper, leather, wood or plastic.