You're watching...

Growing Mushrooms to Make Styrofoam Products

Details

  • Description

    Ecovative Design co-founder Gavin McIntyre on the company’s styrofoam products produced from mushrooms.

  • Duration 3:53
  • Date

Clips

Also in this playlist...

Latest Small Business

Auto-advance: ON

Auto-advance

Transcript

This transcript is automatically generated

So this may look like an ordinary piece of styrofoam -- -- it has the same consistency but it is actually made from mushrooms.

Best result these things that packing material and other items we'll talk about our 100% biodegradable petroleum free and combustible.

Now the company behind them and now has plans to launch their -- material.

In several markets including building materials autos and furniture with us now is Gavin MacIntyre.

-- creative design.

Co-founder good to see you thanks for coming in Gavin appreciate -- so if this.

First of all some people told -- that that that this was actually grown -- specifically.

To be used for this product is that true resist this stuff is.

Is is specifically -- mushrooms for this this styrofoam like pregnant you're.

That's exactly correct week -- and grow all of our products to the -- that we ship them out and which is one of the benefits of our technology.

There's no complex molding technology it literally gross of that form -- -- arrives in the products just as you have in your -- today acknowledged feels it feels is light is styrofoam.

Doesn't have a smell affinity -- it is doesn't only watchers -- -- -- -- it it it feels as though what's the strongest styrofoam.

Is that as cheap to make as styrofoam.

-- all of our materials today are inherently cost competitive and that's because the products literally self assemble they grow.

All of our raw materials rather than using fossil fuels like you mentioned earlier.

Are entirely farm waste which -- sourced from just fifty miles from our manufacturing facilities.

Well so that makes our products inherently cost competitive inherently cost competitive does that mean that it is as cheap to make -- styrofoam.

It certainly is all the products we sell today are at cost parity or even cheaper than it -- plastic -- So why don't people just make the switch it sounds like it's it's a no brainer.

Well today we are still small start -- company.

We are manufacturing products for fortune 500 companies though such as crate and barrel.

But we recently partnered with the Sealed Air Corp.

the company that makes products such as bubble wrap.

And you've been -- -- phones and so together we are taking this technology and we're.

Distributing it across the country opening up new manufacturing facilities where we can take advantage of -- farm -- Now what is your biggest target your biggest competitive target is at the styrofoam copper what.

So today all of our materials are very competitive in terms of their strength and performance -- wells cost.

With with plastic -- so today we're starting to introduce this product into the protective packaging market and our looking to expand further.

Introducing the technology into the construction industry where conservatives rigid -- insulation for example.

A right now Gavin you've I'm sure you've seen the news Mayor Bloomberg the latest thing he wants to do in order to that's it make our lives safer according to him is to -- styrofoam cups.

A lot of us are against these these banning is that he's been doing including against are from but could juror start your mushroom.

Plastic if you will could -- -- styrofoam even without a band even without a government ban on styrofoam.

Very much so you know our technology has a really nice screen story associated with us with that but our customers don't buy our product just because -- green.

They buy it today because its cost competitive with all they plastic phones that are currently on the market.

And that's just because all of our raw materials are local farm waste and our product literally grows insult assembles itself -- congratulations.

By the way for the record -- under thirty right.

That's correct I just had my twentieth birthday congratulations.

On Matt -- terrific product great idea wonderful entrepreneur Gavin MacIntyre of Eagles made -- thanks Gavin -- cats.