Sealed Air and Ecovative have been working together since January.

Sealed Air Corporation and Ecovative Design are teaming up to bring packaging materials made from agricultural waste and "mushroom roots" to market.

Sealed Air will be the exclusive licensee of Ecovative's mycelium-based material technology in Northern America for protective packaging applications.

The EcoCradle Mushroom Packaging is being marketed as an environment-friendly replacement for foam packaging. It is made from agricultural crop waste bonded together with mycelium or mushroom roots.

A patented process cleans and prepares a blend of the agricultural byproducts and mycelium, which is then placed in the dark for about five to seven days. The mycelium, a part of fungus, grows around the agricultural byproducts, shaping the material.

The finished product is 100 percent biodegradable and renewable and uses non-food crops. It also uses significantly less energy than the manufacturing of synthetic foams and is grown naturally without the need to apply heat, pressure or energy.

"We are excited to be the exclusive provider of Ecovative's technology for protective packaging applications. The Ecovative Design team has created a fundamental material technology, using the unique properties of mycelium, to provide solutions to protective packaging," said Ryan Flanagan, president of Sealed Air's protective packaging business.

Sealed Air and Ecovative have been working together since January to develop plans for the sales and marketing of the product as well as the augmentation of production capabilities.

Sealed Air's Protective Packaging business delivers protective, industrial and display packaging systems across a broad range of industries.