Lululemon Just Launched the World’s First Mushroom Leather Yoga Mats

Global athleisure brand Lululemon has revealed what it calls the world’s first yoga accessories created from Mylo — a mushroom-based vegan leather created by biomaterials startup Bolt Threads. This alternative material is used to make Lululemon’s new yoga mats and bags.

Headquartered in Vancouver, Lululemon’s new yoga accessories are made with alternative vegan material. This is in line with the brand’s ambition to be sustainable and use innovative materials in its products to achieve the same.

What is Mylo?

The new products are part of Lululemon’s partnership with California-based Bolt Threads.

The biomaterials startup forged a consortium with leading brands including Lululemon, luxury fashion giant Kering, and sportswear company Adidas — it recreated a vegan version of its iconic Stan Smith sneakers with the mushroom leather. Animal-free high-end brand Stella McCartney is also a part of the consortium launching the world’s first bustier and trousers with Mylo.

Mylo is created from renewable mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms. The cruelty-free material is similar to traditional in feel and texture. Taking only two weeks to grow, it can be adapted to any kind of finishing, embossing, or color. This mycelium-based vegan leather helps eliminates the need for any animal or other petroleum plastic-based synthetic leathers.

Mushroom yoga mat

The new yoga products were developed by Lululemon’s Accessories Design team. Its new yoga mat offers a sustainable alternative to traditional mats. Inspired by the brand’s Take Form Mat, the woven Mylo mat contains 3D zoned alignment patterns.

“As a premium athletic brand, having innovative and proprietary fabrics and other materials that help guests feel their best to perform their best is something we’re proud of,” chief product officer at Lululemon, Sun Choe, said in a statement. “Sustainable innovation will continue to play a key role in the future of retail and product, and for us, leveraging a material like Mylo demonstrates our commitment to creating a healthier environment through lower-impact products, while also giving us the ability to reimagine iconic pieces in our line through a sustainability lens.”

Mushroom bags

The Lululemon Meditation and Yoga Mat Bag, and the Barrel Duffel Bag feature the Mylo material. From the woven handles to braided pulls, the company displays the material’s properties and functional uses. These bags will be available for purchase in early 2022.

Leveraging a material like Mylo demonstrates our commitment to creating a healthier environment through lower-impact products, while also giving us the ability to reimagine iconic pieces in our line through a sustainability lens

Sun Choe, chief product officer at Lululemon

Earth-friendly dyes and resale program

Apart from these new yoga accessories, Lululemon unveiled a sustainable collection featuring dyes made from upcycled orange and beet waste.

In addition, the company launched a “Lululemon Like New” re-commerce program. Through this initiative, customers can trade in their gently used clothes in exchange for an e-gift card. These products will be then cleaned to use again, and for those that can’t be reused, they will be sent for recycling.

This program will allow the brand to save around 50% of the product’s carbon footprint and 310 grams of waste. 

Read: Over Half Of U.S. Consumers Prefer Cruelty-Free Leather Alternatives Over Animal Leather, Study Finds

Lead image courtesy of lululemon.