In April 2018, Bolt Threads introduced its second material innovation, Mylo™ - bio-fabricated leather grown from mycelium, the root structure of a mushroom - representing a step towards revolutionizing the old-world textile industry at a commercial level. Five months later on September 5, Bolt Threads launched its first commercially available Mylo™product -- The Bolt Projects Mylo™Driver Bag.

The Mylo™ Driver is a utilitarian unisex tote, designed in collaboration with Portland-based brand Chester Wallace. Constructed entirely from Bolt Threads' Mylo™ material and paired with a canvas base, every bag is hand-cut and sewn with practical functionality and longevity top of mind - representing the future of leather accessories by combining innovative and sustainable materials with high-quality design.

As the first brand in decades to create two novel materials, Bolt Threads is building the next generation of performance fibers and fabrics using proprietary breakthroughs in industrial biotechnology. By controlling the environment and process through which Mylo™ is grown, Bolt Threads is able to manipulate the material's properties - durability, strength, and suppleness - to ensure Mylo™ looks and feels like hand-crafted leather. Solution oriented, this process reduces pollution, creates long-term sustainability, and always remains cruelty-free.

The textile industry hasn't achieved a major innovation in decades and as the second largest industrial polluter in the world, it is directly affecting our planet. Bolt Threads' innovations are capable of transforming what we wear and how we live. As the company continues to develop material innovations and partner with sustainable fashion leaders, including Stella McCartney and Patagonia, Bolt Threads will continue to bring fashion and material manufacturing innovation into the 21st century.

Bolt Threads was founded in 2009 with the idea that nature holds the answers to the world's most vexing problems. This inspiration has driven the company to develop materials and turn them into products that solve the issues of a resource-constrained world. In the past nine years, Bolt Threads has developed and brought two innovative materials inspired by nature to market - Microsilk™ and Mylo™, cementing its position at the forefront of textile innovation.

Bolt Threads continues to use bioengineering techniques and proprietary technology to work toward a more sustainable future. Livestock use an astonishing 30 percent of the earth's entire land surface and cattle-rearing generates more global warming greenhouse gases, as measured in carbon dioxide equivalent, than all transportation methods. Unlike traditional leather-making processes, the creation of Mylo™ doesn't involve raising livestock, or any of the substantial associated energy costs. These costs include the biomass required to feed livestock and the land used to grow that biomass that could be otherwise storing carbon, along with the significant amount of methane the livestock produce.

Consumers are beginning to acknowledge the environmental impact of the textile industry and are increasingly prioritizing sustainability throughout their lives. Bolt Threads is focusing on scaling production to continue getting sustainable alternative materials into the hands of as many consumers as possible and the Bolt Projects Mylo™ Driver Bag represents the next step towards this goal.

Bolt Threads continues to push the boundaries of biomaterial development and partners with brands that align with their mission to bring their innovations to customers. Long-term partnerships with sustainable industry leaders, including Stella McCartney and Patagonia, focus on finding ways to collaborate on sustainable fabric innovation for outdoor apparel and high-end fashion alike. In fact, Stella McCartney created the first product made from Mylo™, the Mylo™ Falabella Prototype 1, at the Victoria and Albert Museum's Fashioned from Nature exhibit, on April 21st in London.