Tamaris won the ‘German Award for Sustainability Projects 2022’ in the textiles and clothing category with its pilot project ‘Made with Mushrooms’. The footwear company took first place with a mule that’s made partly from mushrooms. The Wortmann Group, to which Tamaris belongs, thus set “a new benchmark in the use of bio-based materials”.
With the ‘Made with Mushrooms’ project, Tamaris is pursuing the approach of producing a sustainable shoe without animal material that can be manufactured industrially and in appropriate quantities. “We completely dispense with leather and reduce the proportion of synthetic material,” says Andreas Burmeister, Head of Sustainability at the Wortmann Group. The straps of the mules developed in the project are made of HyphaLite, a material made from mushrooms. The sole is made from biomass containing algae, the lining and insole are made from recycled plastic.
New materials, new techniques
Special processes are required to produce the materials – the mushroom-based material is mixed with natural rubber, among other things. The resulting biomass is spread onto a cellulose fabric – the resulting structure serves as a substitute for leather, which is still a widely used material in the shoe industry. New technical know-how is also required for the algae-containing substance: the sea plants are processed into a flexible resin – a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastics that are often used to make shoe soles.
By advancing these materials, the Wortmann Group aims to reduce the high consumption of resources and the associated environmental pollution. “One field of action is to question the use of previous materials and to fall back on those that […] have a significantly better carbon footprint,” says Burmeister.
In the ‘Greenstep’ shoe, Tamaris combines more sustainable material alternatives with “fashion standards” and a light wearing comfort. The mule is available in the Tamaris online shop. The Wortmann Group is planning to roll out further collection segments in the future, in the production of which the fungus and algae-based materials will be used.