Sweden is already known for importing trash. IKEA is looking into taking Sweden’s eco-friendliness one step further with mushroom packaging.
I suppose because IKEA is Swedish, it has always been conscious of its packaging. It at one point worked with a design firm in Stockholm to design packaging that was cost efficient and not wasteful.
Now that a new product is out that is completely biodegradable, IKEA is researching new options for their packaging. This product is basically mushroom roots (they stop the mushroom from growing further by drying it out), and is already being used by companies like Dell.
The company, Ecovative, is an American company (yeah baby, points for the US!) that recently opened a 20,000 square foot plant in New York state. They have a great explanation of how they make their mushroom root packaging.
Hopefully IKEA will pick up this packaging, and other companies will follow. We can’t leave it just to Sweden to save our planet.
Sources: IFLScience.com