Two types of fungi were used to create the boot. Credit: Lars Dittrich

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The fashion industry is ecologically tacky, to put it mildly. Textile manufacturers guzzle around 200 million liters of water every year, while animal leather generates its own immense environmental burdens . But out of everything we wear on any given day, shoes are some of the most unsustainable accessories. As much as 95 percent of all footwear ends up in landfills, where all that rubber, plastic, and foam takes generations to decompose.

While there is no easy recipe for crafting a greener shoe, researchers at Belgium’s Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) hope to find a solution in fungi.…