Baguio Central University

Science, Technology and Society

A Survey of Mycelium Vegan Leather Awareness amongst the Residents of Baguio City.

-a research proposal to gather data on the awareness of Baguio residents about Mycelium based leather

Group 1

Am-amlan, Jesse
Angsuban, Melissa
 Introduction

A. Background of the study

Leather, in its most fundamental form, is created from the hide of an animal. First, they are
cleaned to remove the hair and some other debris. Afterward, they are stretched and tanned through a
chemical procedure. During this time, depending on the procedure and chemicals used, the kind of
leather produced varies from one production to another – it can be from soft leather to suede, to hard
rigid leather depending on how it’s treated. When it comes to shoes and handbags, leather is the most
sought-after material, and its production is a procedure that highly needs masterful skill. The following
rule of thumb holds true for many quality leather items: the longer the leather is processed, the greater
it is in quality, and this comes naturally at a cost. Roughly 47% of those manufacturing costs involved in
creating leather items are because of the raw material.

Demand for leather goods is growing but so is criticism of its severe environmental impact,
which is driving a keen interest in sustainable alternatives. As currently practiced, leather production is
linked to some serious sustainability issues, not least as a by-product of the meat industry. Raising the
animals whose skin eventually becomes leather requires vast quantities of water and wide tracts of
pastureland, which must be cleared of trees. In fact, in the last half century, 70 percent of the Amazon
rainforest has been cleared to make way for pastures or for growing feed crops. This mass deforestation
causes habitat loss for millions of species, eliminates the Earth’s tree canopy, and drives climate change.
Animal agriculture and its methane and nitrous oxide rich products, including leather, are leading
contributors to climate change.

While waxed canvas, pineapple leaf fiber and cork oak three fibers are good leather alternatives, it was
in 2013 that Danish product designer Jonas Edvard developed organic mushroom textile using
mushroom spores and plant fibers. The material called MYX, from mycelium and was created using the
waste material from commercial oyster mushroom production. After harvesting the mushrooms, Edvard
discovered that the remaining material could be shaped and dried out. Mycelium is kind of like yeast
(both are fungi), but unlike most yeast cells, which grow as a single cell, mycelium is multicellular and
can grow into macro-size structures which we most often recognize as mushrooms. Not only does
mycelium produce small molecules, but it gently and with supreme precision assembles them into
complex structures so small that they are invisible to the human eye.

Most leather that is branded vegan is polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyurethane (PU) or some form of
natural material combined with PU. While this synthetic leather has a lower environmental impact,
according to the Nature Sustainability study, and is of course animal free, the manufacturing process
uses hazardous chemicals and it's also made from fossil fuels. And like most plastics, the material takes
centuries to break down, according to the study. By contrast, material made from the humble fungi has
impeccable environmental credentials. Their growth is effectively carbon neutral since they capture and
store carbon that would otherwise be emitted or remain in the atmosphere, according to the Nature
Sustainability study. They don't require any light to grow and, other than sterilizing the raw materials,
there is no direct energy input required.
 Mushroom leather production is worth considering for any Filipinos right now as it is still
developing as brands like Adidas and Lululemon have initiated collaborations with plant-based leather
manufacturers. Gucci recently announced a new line of shoes to be produced with Demetra, its in-house
mushroom leather developed over the past two years in Italy. The luxury fashion industry’s interest in
plant-based textile alternatives grows with every passing day. With a current estimated market of 600
million dollars, its value is expected to grow 6.1% during the next 4 years.

B. Problem of the study

Mushroom production has been in the Philippines since the 19th century. But despite having
been long introduced in the country more than a century ago, the Philippines’ contribution to the local
mushroom demand is only at 10% to date. But because of the lack of awareness and the lack knowledge
about the mushroom many Filipinos do not venture into it. A developing country like the Philippines
with issues on its environment because of urbanization, rearing animals for leather will be problem in
the future. With the environmental problems caused by leather production through animal hides, an
innovative, eco-friendly and sustainable leather alternative is needed. With this innovation, there is still
a lack of data on the awareness of Filipinos on the Mycelium based leather.

C. Paradigm

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

 Problem statement  Sample plan
 Purpose of study Surveying plan  Sample size and
demographics
 Key research questions
 Key research questions  Area of focus
Survey design  Survey instrument
 Data analysis plan
 Test survey
 Distribution and data  Survey data
collection Survey execution  Periodic reports
 Survey data  Graphs, charts and info-
 Data analysis plan graphs
Analysis and reporting  Conclusion and
discussion
 Program
recommendations
 Lesson learnt
D. Importance of the study

The Philippines is one of the most severely deforested countries in the tropics and most
deforestation has happened in the last 40 years. Estimates place forest cover in the Philippines in the
year 1900 at 21 million hectares, covering 70 % of the total land area. Because of this deforestation
rearing animals is becoming harder and leather production through animal hides is becoming costly as
there is less production and more imports. With the Fungi vegan leather it would help rearing of animals
in a stable way on what is left on the resources that comes from the forest, as an eco-friendly material it
helps lessen the pollution caused by hide leather production and as an innovation it will help the country
develop.
 Methodology

Sampling Plan

The target population and sample size were determined using standard survey procedures and
sample size calculations taking into consideration appropriate Confidence Levels and Margins of Error.
With an effective target population of approximately 360, 000 the minimum sample size was found to
be 340 respondents to yield an approximate 5% margin of error, or a confidence level of 95%.

Questionnaire Design

The questionnaire for this research will be multiple choices questions and demographic
questions solely based to collect data regarding the research problems.

Data Entry, Formatting and Editing Methods

The data collection will be conducted by the researcher. Next, Date and time was recorded
electronically for each survey completed. Next, Surveys were considered complete once all mandatory
responses were received and last Surveys were marked incomplete in the system where responses to
mandatory questions were not received.

Descriptive Analysis and Statistics

Survey Software Analytics

Survey analysis software will be used for deriving descriptive analysis of individual questions
including averages, standard deviations, frequency counts and data filtering. This software was used
primarily for presentation of results.

Score Development and Analysis

Tabulation of Results

Data will be tabulated and analyzed using IBM (International Business Machine) and Microsoft
statistical analysis tools and algorithms for more complex analysis. The raw data was transposed and
organized into spreadsheets from which statistical algorithms were applied. Each data set was assigned
unique identifiers for sorting and manipulation.
 References

[1] Gamello E. This Mushroom-Based Leather Could Be the Next Sustainable Fashion Material. (2021,
December 16). https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-mushroom-based-leather-
could-be-the-next-sustainable-fashion-material-180979170/#:~:text=Now%2C%20MycoWorks
%2C%20a%20California%2D,Cartner%2DMorley%20for%20the%20Guardian.

[2] Environmental Hazards of Leather. (2010, June 22). https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-

clothing/leather-industry/leather-environmental-hazards/

[3] Cartner-Morley. J. Californian firm touts ‘mushroom leather’ as sustainability gamechanger. (2021,
December 2). https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/dec/02/californian-firm-touts-
mushroom-leather-as-sustainability-gamechanger

[4] Ierace A. & McCartney S. (2019, August 5). The environmental impact of the leather industry.
https://www.hungertv.com/editorial/the-environmental-impact-of-the-leather-industry/

[5] Kristersson E. & Ekegårdh N. (2021, November 13). From Fungi to Vegan Leather - A case study made
to highlight the potentials of mycelium-based leather in the textile industry and the unique
features of its value chain.
https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1654482/FULLTEXT01.pdf

[6] Baguio. (2020). https://www.philatlas.com/luzon/car/baguio.html#sectionDemog