As a Packaging Engineer (go RIT!), I'm really getting a kick out of these [soon to be] replies.

As a packaging Engineer, I'm also calling bullshiat on:

utilizing pre-formed plastic molds for the products to grow inside and dark rooms kept at room temperature.

So exactly what is the cycle time? 3 hours? 3 days? 3 weeks? Unless it's under 30 seconds, this whole idea is just one big publicity stunt. Not to mention what are cushioning characteristics, properties, etc....

/if you've bought from any of these companies then you've probably bought one of my designs:

Apple
Sun Microsystems
Mitsubishi
Epson
HP
Harry & David
Abbott Labs
2Wire
Panasonic
Sony
Gateway

//damn, i've done a lot of designs now that i think about it

Mind it? I insist.

ZAZ: Back in the 1990s they were talking about replacing foam with popcorn, IIRC.

i always like getting things shipped in Lentils. good packing material and ya get to eat em.

I Am The Egg Matt Drudge Smears Upon His Body: As a Packaging Engineer (go RIT!), I'm really getting a kick out of these [soon to be] replies.

As a packaging Engineer, I'm also calling bullshiat on:

utilizing pre-formed plastic molds for the products to grow inside and dark rooms kept at room temperature.

So exactly what is the cycle time? 3 hours? 3 days? 3 weeks? Unless it's under 30 seconds, this whole idea is just one big publicity stunt. Not to mention what are cushioning characteristics, properties, etc....

/if you've bought from any of these companies then you've probably bought one of my designs:

Apple
Sun Microsystems
Mitsubishi
Epson
HP
Harry & David
Abbott Labs
2Wire
Panasonic
Sony
Gateway

//damn, i've done a lot of designs now that i think about it

You have avalid point however if they are grown in such a mass quantity they might serve purpose and it also strangely mentioned other bio waste too. SO WHat? we are going to recive our goods in leaf lettuce.The company is making headway but they need to explain in numbers how much volume they can produce or as you say this is nothing more than a publicity stunt.

I prefer cheeze poofs

What about those peanuts that dissolve when they get wet?

In any case I give this a big HELL YES! if it takes off. Styrofoam peanuts are turds of the devil. Whoever invented them needs to be strung up next to the dudes who invented Comic Sans, and HOA's.

This doesn't sound right (only skimmed the article). One as mentioned by the pro above, It would have to be quick or packing people would need to be comfortable packing a box loose to be filled in the hour or four it sets waiting for shipping.

Two, it said inedible. It's either biodegradable or it is not. Assuming it is, if your package takes longer to get to you, or certain weather conditions, It could rot? If not then the benefit would only be in reduced carbon footprint not landfill reduction.

Third, you would end up sending mushroom spores all over the world and encouraging people to put it in their garden? Even if you arn't actually sending that portion of the mushroom, I assume they get everywhere. I believe there are restrictions on shipping bio material out of state.

I assume it's a proof of concept that won't ever see practice outside some high minded packers.

And when USPS, UPS, FedEx, Etc looses my package behind a conveyer for 6 months, will they deliver an oozing box of biohazardous, decomposing, goo?

No thanks. What about people with mushroom allergys?

What happened to the corn starch peanuts Sony started using in the early 90's? They simply disolved in water. They were suppposed to replace foam nuts.

Plastic pillows can be fun too.

What's wrong with air bags? Shredded paper works for me too.

I would not do this with a ground cross country shipment, thanks.

Strangely, I don't have a problem with this. Sure there are a few problems to work out, but there are a few problems with styrofoam peanuts too. Lets give them a chance to work out the bugs before we pile on the negativity. I'm all for research, especially into domestic alternatives that don't require oil to create.

Your package cant go there, it's bat country!

jevman: I would not do this with a ground cross country shipment, thanks.

How about the slow international shipments of large packages? Customs objections aside, that would end up being a self-sustaining package that ends up heavier when you receive it. Never mind that the potency of the thing would literally confuse anyone that handles it.

FARK! Theres a ten-foot tall purple bat-winged fire breathing llama under my desk!

Yup, been eating packaging again. Slow day.

acronym: I prefer cheeze poofs

The white ones don't have much flavor though. Also, kind of chewy.

What if I order thirty pounds of mushrooms online. What then?

I Am The Egg Matt Drudge Smears Upon His Body:
As a packaging Engineer, I'm also calling bullshiat on:

utilizing pre-formed plastic molds for the products to grow inside and dark rooms kept at room temperature.

So exactly what is the cycle time? 3 hours? 3 days? 3 weeks? Unless it's under 30 seconds, this whole idea is just one big publicity stunt. Not to mention what are cushioning characteristics, properties, etc....

The maturity time doesn't matter to the output of mushrooms. You can stack multiple growth disks in an array that gives maturity to meet demand by using thousands of growth disks per group and starting each group day by day. The only thing that will bite them is start up cost because there will be that initial time they have to wait for the mushrooms to grow.

Same idea for those CFL bulbs. I laugh at anyone who says "Oh the lightbulb companies are putting themselves out of business!" Sure there will be a 6 year period where sales will be slow, but demand will pick up after because the first adopters will need to rebuy the product. And if everyone adopts the product then it will be just like the good ol' days.

//tl;dr...I know...

Hooray! Shrooms sound just right for cushioning the one eyed, one horned, flying purple people eater I bought on Woot this morning.

What about styrofoam snaaaaaaakes? Snaaaaaaaakes?

I'm sure my mushroom-allergic friends cannot wait.

What your next shipment might look like:


/your cunning plan yada yada

I Am The Egg Matt Drudge Smears Upon His Body: As a Packaging Engineer (go RIT!), I'm really getting a kick out of these [soon to be] replies.

As a packaging Engineer, I'm also calling bullshiat on:

utilizing pre-formed plastic molds for the products to grow inside and dark rooms kept at room temperature.

So exactly what is the cycle time? 3 hours? 3 days? 3 weeks? Unless it's under 30 seconds, this whole idea is just one big publicity stunt. Not to mention what are cushioning characteristics, properties, etc....

/if you've bought from any of these companies then you've probably bought one of my designs:

Apple
Sun Microsystems
Mitsubishi
Epson
HP
Harry & David
Abbott Labs
2Wire
Panasonic
Sony
Gateway

//damn, i've done a lot of designs now that i think about it

A packing Engineer is a fancy title for the bouncer at a Gay club.

what about people with mushroom allergies. Some people cant even touch them (though I realize most are from ingestion). I saw lawsuits waiting to happen when someone gets a rash from opening their package.

/hot like the desert

I don't know about this. mushrooms tend to rot rather quickly once they've been picked and aren't kept in refrigeration. I wouldn't want my goods smelling like the awful stench they put off.

Oh, it's so veiny!

Airbags works just fine for me.
/When I finish with them I just toss them in the ocean

The guy who is trolling you right now: "Currently, the article states, the pair are exploring cinnamon-bark oil, thyme oil, oregano oil and lemongrass oil to help Mycobond grow in the open air. "

Wait, what? Aromatherapy for mushrooms? What is this hippie shiat?

Are there any mushrooms that don't smell like the ground they were pulled from? They might as well light dirt on fire and whiff it.

I can picture these people always saying "Ecovative is EVOCATIVE" in their spiels.

I Am The Egg Matt Drudge Smears Upon His Body: /if you've bought from any of these companies then you've probably bought one of my designs:

And if you made any of those impossible-to-open-without-a-sawzall clamshell cases, there's going to be a mob of angry farkers with pitchforks at your door. :)

Mushroom roots? They do realize where those roots have been, right? And that mushrooms start breaking down when you wash them? (disclaimer- I've never washed a mushroom *root*)

Make him SQUEAL!

I went to school with the guys who started this. There aren't any live mushrooms in the packaging when its being used. Basically they grow mushrooms on agri-waste and the mushroom fibers act as a binder to hold it all together. Link (new window)
I think they bake it or starve it or something to stop the growth at after a certain time.

Last I heard, the growth time was something around 6 weeks. That's really rough, but on the flip side it grows well in unlit, un-heated warehouses, which we happen to have plenty of in this country.

I Am The Egg Matt Drudge Smears Upon His Body: So exactly what is the cycle time? 3 hours? 3 days? 3 weeks? Unless it's under 30 seconds, this whole idea is just one big publicity stunt. Not to mention what are cushioning characteristics, properties, etc....

I dunno, you might be surprised. They mention cooling the place which mean they aren't growing anything like an edible mushroom. It's probably some kind of hardwood fungus and those can be pretty spongy.

If I'm right (I'm right) then they're using big hanging culture bags and moving them through assembly-line style. It probably took 2 weeks to get the first batch through but they could totally be harvesting enough ever day to make a business of it.

I bet the boxes smell though.

Old enough to know better: What about those peanuts that dissolve when they get wet?

They're made of starch, and I have no idea where the starch comes from or what manufacturing processes are used to get them into that form, so it may not be any "greener" than styrofoam. They're certainly more biodegradable though.

My experience with mushrooms are that if you leave them in the cupboard for a week they liquefy and turn into a hideous smelling goo and you have to remove and throw away the entire shelf.

I would think that if they found a way around them rotting I would be fine with it, but the line about being able to toss the packing materiel in the compost heap makes me think of rotting.

Unless they can grow several trillion of them a year their cunning plan has a flaw...

Shizznet: ZAZ: Back in the 1990s they were talking about replacing foam with popcorn, IIRC.

i always like getting things shipped in Lentils. good packing material and ya get to eat em.

Before styrofoam, didn't they used to pack things in straw? Is that what they meant by "inedible agricultural waste"?

Its all fun and games until the packing peanuts start taking over your garden.. then who's gettin sued now.