ForMatter/Materials/biomaterial/Mushroom Leather (Mylo / Reishi)
mat_mushroom_leather_mylo

Mushroom Leather (Mylo / Reishi)

fine mycelium sheet, leather alternative · Mylo (Bolt Threads), Reishi (MycoWorks), mycelium leather, fine mycelium textile
mediumlast updated 2026-04-27
metallic 0.00
hue shift +0°

Leather grown rather than tanned — fine mycelial mats cultivated for 1–3 weeks on a substrate, harvested as a sheet, stabilized with mild tanning. Mylo (Bolt Threads, partnered with Stella McCartney, Adidas, Lululemon) and Reishi (MycoWorks, partnered with Hermès) are the two highest-profile commercial efforts. Renewable, low-water, and visually convincing as a leather substitute at the high-fashion price point.

Cultivated mycelial mat from fungi (varying genus by producer — *Ganoderma* for Reishi, proprietary species for Mylo) grown on agricultural substrate, harvested as sheet, pressed and tanned with mild plant-based finishes. Tensile and tear performance comparable to bovine leather of equivalent thickness. Surface texture engineerable through cultivation conditions and finishing pressure. Production economics still developing — pricing comparable to fine leather.

mechanical

  • tensile_strength_mpa25
  • tear_strength_n80
source: MycoWorks Reishi technical communications; Bolt Threads Mylo material disclosures

Sustainability

  • embodied carbon kg co2e per kg1.5
  • sourceEditorial estimate from ICE / Granta CES EduPack class databases — industry mean, with cradle-to-gate boundary unless otherwise noted. Embodied carbon for any specific product depends on supplier mix, recycled content, and energy grid; verify against a primary source before using these numbers in a sustainability claim.
  • recyclabilityhigh — biodegradable depending on finishing chemistry
  • biodegradableTrue
  • certificationsGOTS (some product variants)
visual
warm tan to brown depending on tanning, surface texture engineerable from smooth to suede-like
tactile
soft, drape-similar to fine leather

PBR starter values

Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere fibrous finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material.

# finish:      fibrous
albedo        #a07850
metallic      0.00
roughness     0.70
ior           1.45
transmission  0.00
clearcoat     0.00
sheen         0.70
anisotropic   0.50
copy as JSON 
{
  "albedo": "#a07850",
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.7,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "transmission": 0.0,
  "clearcoat": 0.0,
  "sheen": 0.7,
  "anisotropic": 0.5
}
Blender 4.x Python 
# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# Mushroom Leather (Mylo / Reishi) · finish: fibrous
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_mushroom_leather_mylo")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value         = (0.3515, 0.1878, 0.0802, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value           = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value          = 0.700
bsdf.inputs["IOR"].default_value                = 1.450
bsdf.inputs["Transmission Weight"].default_value = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Coat Weight"].default_value        = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Sheen Weight"].default_value       = 0.700
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value        = 0.500
KeyShot Python (lux) 
# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# Mushroom Leather (Mylo / Reishi) · finish: fibrous
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_mushroom_leather_mylo", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse",      (160, 120, 80))   # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic",     0.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness",    0.700)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.450)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)
Substance pbrMetalRough 
{
  "_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
  "_about": "Mushroom Leather (Mylo / Reishi) \u00b7 finish: fibrous",
  "baseColor": {
    "r": 0.3515,
    "g": 0.1878,
    "b": 0.0802
  },
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.7,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "opacity": 1.0,
  "anisotropyLevel": 0.5,
  "_notes": "Channels listed are the standard Substance pbrMetalRough output. Drop into a Uniform Color node per channel, or as the constant input on a layered stack."
}
glTF 2.0 Metallic-Roughness 
{
  "asset": {
    "version": "2.0",
    "generator": "ForMatter"
  },
  "materials": [
    {
      "name": "mat_mushroom_leather_mylo",
      "pbrMetallicRoughness": {
        "baseColorFactor": [
          0.3515,
          0.1878,
          0.0802,
          1.0
        ],
        "metallicFactor": 0.0,
        "roughnessFactor": 0.7
      },
      "extensions": {
        "KHR_materials_ior": {
          "ior": 1.45
        },
        "KHR_materials_sheen": {
          "sheenColorFactor": [
            1.0,
            1.0,
            1.0
          ],
          "sheenRoughnessFactor": 0.7
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
USD Preview Surface 
# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# Mushroom Leather (Mylo / Reishi) · finish: fibrous
def Material "mat_mushroom_leather_mylo" {
    token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_mushroom_leather_mylo/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>

    def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
        uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
        color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.3515, 0.1878, 0.0802)
        float   inputs:metallic     = 0.000
        float   inputs:roughness    = 0.700
        float   inputs:ior          = 1.450
        float   inputs:opacity      = 1.000
        float   inputs:clearcoat    = 0.000
        token   outputs:surface
    }
}
↓ download glTF material
Substitutes
Bacterial Cellulose
Piñatex (Pineapple Leaf Fiber)

Citations