Good Judy
How Good Judy uses Mushroom® Packaging to revolutionize the tattoo industry
Good Judy is the sole North American tattoo supply company that only sells certified compostable and biodegradable products.
The tattoo industry relies on disposable plastic barriers and tools for health safety but it has accumulated billions of pieces of contaminated plastic waste.
In response, the Canadian company is championing the eco tattoo industry, already supplying the likes of compostable paper eco ink caps and biodegradable nitrile gloves.
The Problem
Ink cap trays have to be thrown away as health boards no longer allow stainless steel reusable ones. Sadly, this means the trays are largely made up of oil-derived plastic or bio-plastics.
However, Good Judy owner Lee D’Angelo believes that industrial manufacturing can thrive when paired with a deep commitment to the environment and wanted to find a business partner with the same core values.
Good Judy needed a company that was willing to take on a unique challenge making a unique product: a biodegradable planet-friendly ink cap tray.
The Solution
Working with Magical Mushroom Company®’s design team, a prototype of the ink cap tray was produced rapidly. Next, 3D printed soft-tooling and tray moulds were made.
Once the prototype met the highest impact and stress-testing standards, then the hard tool was signed off and manufactured.
The sustainable ink cap holders were then made from Mushroom® Packaging; grown just in a matter of days in the MMC’s Esher plant.
Mushroom® Packaging is made by binding mycelium with agricultural waste – such as recycled hemp - as a feedstock, offering a safe, sustainable, strong and compostable alternative to plastics.
Even better, the packaging breaks down in the absence of oxygen. This means this material can capture harmful gases that waste sites like landfills emit and it breaks down in those harsh conditions where light and oxygen are not present.
The Results
The circular product exemplifies what a plant-based alternative to plastic means - it was grown, not refined through chemical processes.
Now Good Judy can offer customers a safe, sustainable and compostable alternative to polystyrene – using Mushroom® Packaging makes the ink cap tray the most eco-friendly product of its kind.
The trays can be put straight in your garden as compost, which acts as a natural fertilizer and goes back to earth after 45 days.
And this is just the start for Mushroom® Packaging and the tattoo industry. MMC and Good Judy are working on more mycelium tattoo products, which again will be fully compostable. Watch our Insta at magicalmshroom for news.
The ink cap trays also reinforce the scope for Mushroom® Packaging. It is quickly expanding into many industries other than just packaging: fashion, food, design, insulation and now body art. What would you make from Mushroom® Packaging?
“ That's why we are enthusiastic about mycelium solutions”
“ Good Judy is striving to find practical solutions to the plastic waste crisis that reaches beyond even bioplastics. That's why we are enthusiastic about mycelium solutions - these innovative materials are what will truly transform industries that are built on single-use items.”
Lee D’Angelo, Good Judy Founder