I just wonder how something like canvas compares. If it lasts 1/2 as long but nothing had to be killed and skinned it's kind of hard to compare the two. But canvas comes from plants, which seems nice. Mushroom leather, if it did not compare directly to animal leather, could be used in decorative applications, while durable plant based or synthetic materials could be used when longevity is needed.
It's nice having durable products, and frustrating when things succumb to unnecessary failure. I think that given the externalities of producing it, though, it seems increasingly short-sighted to look at that metric in isolation.
What about durability per hectare of dead forest or kilo of CO2?
Though I'm quite fond of leather shoes, I'd gladly take a slightly less durable product that's many times less harmful to produce.
> less durable product that's many times less harmful to produce.
A big citation needed here… I am not sure boots made from locally-sourced leather are less sustainable than boots made from synthetic fibers and petroleum derivates some place in South-East Asia.
I’ve been wearing the same leather boots for 4 winters now, a leather jacket is steadily approaching the 10 years marks.
More generally: sustainability problems can be mitigated or solved by buying stuff that lasts, see for instance /r/BuyItForLife
Is mushroom leather as durable?