It may seem like weird science to some but the move to organic materials instead of chemically derived polymers continues to gain momentum among brand owners.

            Steelcase, the large contract office furnishings producer, has become a surprise leader in that market shift. The Grand Rapids, MI-based company has partnered with Ecovative Design, a material science company in , that is producing a packaging material made from naturally occurring waste products such as buckwheat, rice, or cottonseed hulls and mushroom roots.

            The result is a molded protective package called EcoCradle that company officials say is “grown” instead of manufactured. In a system developed in 2007 by two recent graduates of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre, fungal mycelium, an enzyme found in mushroom roots, is used as a bonding agent with agricultural byproducts to form an insulating material.

             The material is then molded into a shape and ready for use as a protective shell for a product. But a bit of a challenge has been scale. “As we worked through this, we wondered how we would scale up and get to the point of actually providing several thousand a month,” said Dennis Carlson, manager of packaging and logistics for North America with Steelcase.

            Steelcase helped Ecovative develop the material over the course of more than a year, putting it through a series of durability tests and developing parts geometries, Carlson said. It is now offering the first commercial launch of EcoCradle -- for Steelcase’s ready-to-assemble laminate casegoods.

            Initially, the company will distribute 5,000 to 7,000 packaged parts per month with the material, Carlson said. But that number could eventually run to tens of thousands, he added.

            Doing that will require a series of regional growing centers that can ship packages short distances. But since the “grow houses” are not energy or labor intensive, they are relatively cost-efficient to start. The current Steelcase shipments will come from Ecovative’s

            Steelcase has been moving away from expanded polystyrene (EPS) protective materials for three years for performance and environmental reasons, Carlson said. But while other foam materials have worked well, the company has some concerns about extended producer responsibility (EPR) and the looming need for brand owners to pay to dispose of waste.

            “If we use a totally organic packaging element in the field that decomposes in 30 or 45 days, we contribute a positive influence on the triple bottom line,” he said.