The Finnish design company Avian, in collaboration with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Aalto University, has developed a headphones prototype made from fungus and other biodegradable materials.
The headband is made of 3D-printed bioplastic from yeast-produced lactic acid and the earcups’ padding comes from a hydrophobin, foaming protein produced by fungus and plant cellulose. To give the earphones a more appealing look the design company used a faux-leather finish sourced from fungus for the earcups and the mesh covering the speakers is made out of biosynthetic spider silk that is produced by microbes.
