Sustainability in Fashion Is a Necessity Not a Trend, Says One Earthshot Prize Finalist

The first iteration of the material was actually a building material. In 2017, the founders discovered a leather alternative could be produced. Now they partner with brands who use their product in different ways, including for art, clothing and jewelry. As Hartantyo puts it, “The market is exploring the material’s potential by itself.”

MYCL grows mycelium in small labs near to crop waste sources. They use waste from palm oil plantations, which has the added benefit of preventing this from being burned and producing pollution. “We saw that rather than burning it up in open air, which creates lots of air pollution, we can actually convert the carbon and then turn it into usable materials,” Hartantyo said.

On November 6, MYCL will be one of 15 finalists celebrated at Prince William’s Earthshot Prize awards in Cape Town. Nominated in the Clean Our Air category, they have a chance to win £1 million to scale up their innovation. They already have a factory in Japan and hope to eventually expand more widely across Asia and Europe.

For MYCL, sustainability was always a “main core value since the beginning.” “We saw sustainability not as an additional value but as part of the foundation of the company itself,” Hartantyo said. “Sustainability in fashion, for us, it’s not a trend, it’s a necessity. There is no other way other than sustainability to be moving forward. The Earth doesn’t need us, we need the earth. Sustainable technology is the future technology. That will make sure that we have the future for the next generations.”

Town & Country Contributing Editor Victoria Murphy has reported on the British Royal Family since 2010. She has interviewed Prince Harry and has travelled the world covering several royal tours. She is a frequent contributor to Good Morning America. Victoria authored Town & Country book The Queen: A Life in Pictures, released in 2021.