Plant-Based Leather Company Ecovative Closes $60 Million Funding Round

1 April 2021

In a year of innovation, rapid developments are taking place in the vegan leather sector. Even major fashion brands have delved into these materials, with recent headliners being Hermes, Stella McCartney, H&M and Jason Momoa's recent launch. This rise in demand for sustainable and ethical fashion has caught the attention of investors as well.

Ecovative, a company developing vegan leather from mushrooms, recently received an investment worth $60 million in a Series D funding round, with its net capital now amounting to $100 million. The round was led by Viking Global Investors as well as Senator Investment Group, Trousdale Ventures and AiiM Partners.

The company creates plant-based leather from mycelium, a part of fungus. This textile has a low environmental footprint and performs like animal leather. Leather created from mycelium was also adopted by Bolt Threads, the company which developed the material for Stella McCartney’s latest launch.

Ecovative will be using the investment for research and development for their Mycelium Foundry, and to scale their production. They aim to work with fashion brands, providing customized sustainable textiles.

According to the Higgs Index, animal leather has the highest carbon footprint, followed by silk. The need for sustainable fashion is rising everyday, and material innovations like these are aiding the industry to gradually adapting to environmentally-conscious clothing. 

Image Courtesy: Ecovative