Yes!
The 2 to 4 million species of fungi in the world offer us endless possibilities — from creating alternative building materials and textiles, to cleaning up environmental toxins, to providing new sources of plant-based proteins. Now, scientists are turning to mushrooms and mycoremediation to solve our plastic pollution crisis.
What Is Mycoremediation?
Mushrooms growing at a habitat restoration site in Hylebos Creek, Tacoma, Washington in 2010. Port of Tacoma / Flickr
Mycoremediation is a form of bioremediation: the introduction of microorganisms or other life forms to break down environmental pollutants in contaminated areas. Bioremediation is employed to clean up oil spills, industrial sites, brownfields and even Superfund sites, often introducing bacteria to degrade the pollutants and cycle nutrients back into the environment. Mycoremediation is different in that it uses fungi instead of bacteria. Mycelia — the thread-like root systems of fungi that grow underneath the mushroom — consume food externally, using their enzymes to break down molecules in pollutants and toxins. Basically, they digest the surface they’re growing on and convert it into nutrients.
It’s a remarkable method that’s been used to clean up industrial and agricultural waste — like cyanotoxins, herbicides and pesticides — and sometimes convert them into edible, high-protein mushrooms. Mushrooms have been used to clean up oil spills, contaminated soil and heavy metals in brownfields. Oyster mushrooms are capable of removing E. coli from contaminated waters, such as the highly contaminated Chicago River, as well as toxin-filled ash from wildfires that make their way into waterways.
And now, we’re beginning to see their potential to break down one of our generation’s most widespread pollutants: plastic.
Potential Uses
Landfills and Marine Plastic Patches
Plastic doesn’t decompose, but merely breaks down into smaller pieces over time. That means that the 8.3 billion tons of plastic that have been produced since the 1950s still exists in one form or another. Landfills, where 27 million tons of plastic have accumulated since 2018, are a particular concern. How, though, can mushrooms be used to break down plastic in these airless, sunless environments?
Pestalotiopsis microspora might be the answer. A 2011 study out of Yale University declares that this rare mushroom — found by students on a class research trip to Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest — can degrade a common type of polymer plastic called polyester polyurethane, along with several other fungi in the Pestalotiopsis genus. These fungi can use plastic as their main source of carbon, converting it into organic matter. Pestalotiopsis microspora can even do so in both liquid and soil suspensions in dark environments without oxygen, meaning it could be useful in landfills, waste treatment centers and even in ocean plastic gyres like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Working quickly, it decomposes parts of the plastic in just two weeks.
In 2017, scientist Sehroon Khan of the Kunming Institute of Botany collected Aspergillus tubingensis growing in a city garbage dump in Islamabad, Pakistan. He found that the fungus was able to break down polyurethane — a plastic used widely in producing large appliances, fake leather, sponges, and synthetic fibers — within weeks. The mushroom’s enzymes and mycelia work to break bonds between molecules and then break them apart.
Non-Recyclable Material
Not all plastics can be recycled, or it’s extremely difficult to do so. Polypropylene, for example, accounts for 28% of global plastic waste, but a meager 1% of it is recycled. It’s used to create household items like toys, industrial products like car parts, plastic packaging like takeout containers and cling film, and textiles, making it a widely used plastic for which there are few recycling solutions.
Research conducted by the University of Sydney’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering discovered that two types of fungi typically found in plants and soil — Aspergillus terreus and Engyodontium album — were able to break down this type of plastic after being pre-treated with heat, UV light or an acidic solution called Fenton’s reagent. After 30 days of incubation, the plastic had been reduced by 21%, and after 90 days, it had been reduced by 25 to 27%. Researchers believe that if they optimize the conditions of the process even more, they’ll see a reduction in degradation time.
Oyster mushrooms can also break down items containing non-recyclable plastic. One trial conducted by Fungi Solutions in Melbourne found that they are capable of breaking down most toxins and the microplastics in cigarette butts, which are one of the top items of plastic waste found in the ocean, within seven days. The group believes they can remove 1.2 million cigarette butts from landfills and dispose of them in this way.
In the Home
Even for the plastic waste in your own home, oyster mushrooms are coming to the rescue. Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus pulmonarius — both types of oyster mushrooms — were found capable of degrading PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) plastic over 30 to 60 days. PET is commonly used to make plastic water bottles, 600 billion of which are produced every year and only a small percentage of which actually get recycled.
The Fungi Mutarium might just be the solution. Created by Katharina Unger with Utrecht University in the Netherlands, the recycling system contains pods made of agar and plastics treated with UV. Oyster and split gill mushrooms fed on these pods for a few months. Scientists anticipate smaller scale versions of the Fungi Mutarium being used in homes, and larger systems at recycling or waste-treatment centers for community use. While some bioaccumulate too many toxins when degrading environmental pollutants, some mushrooms that feed on plastic in such systems are even edible — such as the Fungi Mutarium, which produces edible mycelia.
Takeaway
With our plastic pollution crisis only growing, we’ll need to find ways to both reduce our consumption as well as sustainably dispose of these huge amounts of waste. Mycoremediation is an opportunity to handle plastic waste through natural means, perhaps even on a worldwide scale.
The post Can Mushrooms Really Break Down Plastic? appeared first on EcoWatch.
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There’s something undeniably special about wearing uniquely handcrafted, fair trade jewelry that you can know was made slowly and thoughtfully with care. Equally special is wearing an elevated set of jewelry crafted with recycled materials and sustainable processes.
Whether you’re looking for an investment piece or more affordable pieces, there are options for any budget on this list. The aesthetics of these fair trade and sustainable jewelry brands also vary, so you’ll also be able to discover an ethical brand that matches your unique style.
What is Fair Trade Jewelry?
Fair trade can both be a general term used to describe a brand’s sourcing practices — like direct relationships with artisan cooperatives, wages above local standard rates, and safe working conditions — or a third-party “Fair Trade” verification through an organization like Fair Trade Federation, Fair Trade USA, or World Fair Trade Organization. When a brand doesn’t have a certification, we verify a brand’s practices by their own published information.
In the cases where brands do go the extra mile and get a third-party verification for their fair trade practices, we’ve noted it directly in their entries.
Note that this guide includes affiliate links and partners. As always, we only feature brands that meet high standards for responsibility we love, and that we think you’ll love too!
2. Ana Luisa
Best for: affordable everyday jewelry
Conscious Qualities: Recycled Gold, Lab-Grown Diamonds, Small-Batch Production, Direct-to-Consumer
Ana Luisa creates stunning, elegant jewelry from responsibly-sourced materials including 100% recycled gold and lab-grown diamonds. The sustainable jewelry brand also produces in small batches to minimize waste.
By using a direct-to-consumer model, Ana Luisa is able to provide luxury, high-quality jewelry at accessible prices.
3. Monica Vinader
Best for: recycled demi-fine jewelry
Conscious Qualities: Woman-Founded, Recycled Silver & Gold Vermeil, Traceable Gemstones, Lab-Grown & Conflict-Free Diamonds, Supply Chain Transparency
Price Range: $85 (studs) – $2,495 (diamond ring)
British jewelry brand Monica Vinader was one of the first brands to meet the gap between fashion jewelry and fine jewelry with their “demi fine” jewelry. The women-founded brand has necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings crafted from 100% recycled sterling silver and gold vermeil, fully traceable gemstones, and lab-grown or conflict-free diamonds. Monica Vinader also launched Product Passports, taking an active effort towards full supply chain transparency.
4. WorldFinds
Best for: unique statement jewelry with a story
Conscious Qualities: Fair Trade Verified, Upcycled Materials, Artisan-Made
WorldFinds provides sustainable employment and just wages for hundreds of women artisans in India and Bali. These artisans handcraft both sleek metal fair trade jewelry and unique recycled Kantha pieces. WorldFinds is Verified by the Fair Trade Federation, which assesses members against fair trade principles including fair wages, safe conditions, and transparent supply chains.
Plus WorldFinds’ signature Kantha jewelry is made from upcycling materials: wood scraps from a furniture factory and locally sourced Kantha fabric remnants.
5. Astor + Orion
Best for: drop earrings and charm necklaces with symbolism
Conscious Qualities: Certified Ethical Factory, Recycled Materials, Designed for Recyclability, Repair Program
Ethical jewelry brand Astor + Orion sources their jewelry from a factory with multiple certifications ensuring worker safety, fair production practices, and responsible environmental management. Astor + Orion’s stunning jewelry is made from recycled materials and designed in a way to make it easily recyclable! Their pieces also come with a quality assurance — the brand will repair any piece within 6 months of purchase.
6. Laura Elizabeth
Best for: non-toxic jewelry in organic shapes
Conscious Qualities: Locally Sourced Recycled Metals, Woman-Owned, Fair Wages, Safe Working Conditions
Price Range: $45 – $330
Crafted from recycled metals sourced locally in LA, Laura Elizabeth creates stand-out sustainable jewelry. All of the brand’s jewelry is sourced ethically from a small, woman-owned studio in Los Angeles that ensures reasonable working hours (35 hr/week), fair wages, and safe working conditions (such as proper ventilation). Check out more on Laura Elizabeth in this post!
The jewelry is also non-toxic, free of cadmium or lead.
7. Ten Thousand Villages
Best for: giftable fair trade jewelry
Conscious Qualities: Fair Trade Production, Artisan-Made
Price Range: $6 – $175
Founded in 1946, Ten Thousand Villages is one of the fair trade pioneers and a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), the global network that verifies fair trade practices across its member organizations.
They’ve developed relationships with artisans around the world, providing valuable economic opportunities for thousands of makers in 30 countries around the world. Their marketplace has handmade necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings, along with a variety of other fair trade goods.
8. Edge of Ember
Best for: gemstone jewelry
Conscious Qualities: Recycled Gold & Silver, Artisan-Made, Ethical Production
Price Range: $49 (ear cuff) – $2,730 (diamond tennis bracelet)
Edge of Ember’s timeless jewelry is responsibly crafted by makers working in artisan groups and small-scale factories. Their delicate necklaces, bracelets, rings, and other pieces are crafted by skilled artisans in India, Hong Kong, Germany, and Thailand. The brand carries out independent social audits to ensure ethical working conditions and environmental responsibility.
Edge of Ember has a wide selection of recycled gold and silver rings, bracelets, and necklaces adorned with stunning gemstones, including many birthstone jewelry options perfect for gifting.
9. Aurate
Best for: ethical diamond fine jewelry
Conscious Qualities: 100% Recycled Gold, Lab-Grown & Conflict-Free Diamonds, Vintage Collection
Price Range: $18 (stainless steel chain) – $19,000 (diamond tennis necklace)
Responsibly-sourced quality jewelry — that’s Aurate’s promise. The jewelry brand’s sleek, timeless pieces are thoughtfully made by seventh-generation craftspeople using 100% recycled gold and lab-grown or conflict-free diamonds.
Aurate also has a curated collection of vintage fine jewelry from cocktail watches to signet rings up to 50% off.
10. SOKO
Best for: modern, minimalist artisan-made jewelry
Conscious Qualities: Above-Market Artisan Wages, Black-Owned
Price Range: $78 – $298
SOKO is an innovative Black-owned ethical jewelry brand using mobile tools to bridge the barriers for artisan entrepreneurs in Kenya. In partnership with SOKO, independent artisans can operate a “virtual factory”, earning 5x more than an average artisan workshop in their local areas.
The jewelry is made with 24K gold or silver-plated brass — an affordable metal that also happens to consist of 90% recycled content on average. Other materials include reclaimed horn and bone, locally-sourced teak wood offcuts, and ceramic beads made by a fair trade women’s collective in Kenya.
10. Raven + Lily
Best for: affordable artisan jewelry
Conscious Qualities: Fair Trade Verified, Artisan-Made, Women-Led
Price Range: $40 – $240
Raven + Lily is an ethical fashion and jewelry brand verified Fair Trade by the Fair Trade Federation. The women-led brand partners with artisan women around the world who use natural materials to craft both classic, elegant pieces and statement jewelry.
11. NAKIIT
Best for: one-of-a-kind, solo-handcrafted pieces
Conscious Qualities: Made-to-Order, Recycled Silver & Gold, Zero-Waste Scrap Recycling
Price Range: $21 – $485
As a small, slow-minded jewelry brand, NAKIIT’s founder + owner handcrafts each piece with intention. In fact, every piece of jewelry the brand sells is made by the founder herself!
Nearly all of NAKIIT’s ethically-made jewelry is either made-to-order or one-of-a-kind, ensuring a minimal ecological impact and the highest attention to quality.
As if we could love this brand even more, NAKIIT also sources recycled sterling silver and gold, plus recycles any remaining metal scraps or dust after production.
You May Also Want to Check Out:
Best Fair Trade Fashion Brands With Style and Heart
Affordable Ethical Fashion Brands
Consciously Curated Marketplaces for One-Stop Ethical Shopping
The post 11 Best Fair Trade and Sustainable Jewelry Brands That Shine appeared first on Conscious Life & Style.
11 Best Fair Trade and Sustainable Jewelry Brands That Shine
It’s time to leave fast fashion in the dust — with one-of-a-kind designs, quality fabrics, and the assurance your dollars are supporting a more responsible fashion industry, these slow fashion brands are sure to win you over.
Before we go any further, though, I think we need to clarify what exactly slow fashion is…
What Do I Mean By “Slow Fashion?”
Slow fashion is about being more mindful and thoughtful about how clothing (and other fashion items) are being produced, how they’re being purchased, and how they’re being used/worn.
Instead of mass-producing trend-driven garments cheaply and quickly, slow fashion production is about creating a piece to last by using high-q