The environmental and health harms of producing conventional plastic foam earplugs are substantial, yet little talked about, and a company called GOB has created a regenerative solution made from mushroom mycelium.
Every year, an estimated 40 billion plastic foam earplugs are produced globally. These products are used to protect hearing in noisy environments, from bustling construction sites to the pulsing beats of live concerts. They also serve more regular, practical needs such as allowing for better sleep or focus throughout the day. While the application and use case for earplugs is evident, their environmental and human health impacts are more discrete. The production of this seemingly small and innocent product holds a deeper and more destructive secret—one that is fueled by a reliance on harmful materials and unsustainable production that deserves to be exposed.
Conventional Plastic Foam Earplugs are Plastic Pollution
Most foam earplugs are primarily made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyurethane, both fossil-based plastics. These types of plastic do not biodegrade and are plastic pollution the moment they are created. In fact, PVC is one of the most harmful plastics to both people and the planet. During its production, PVC emits numerous hazardous chemicals, including carcinogens like dioxins, which can have devastating effects on communities near manufacturing plants. PVC is also made of toxic and highly hazardous materials that cause environmental and health disasters.
Manufacturing 40 billion foam earplugs annually requires an estimated 1.3 million barrels of oil, underscoring their reliance on finite and polluting fossil fuels.
After being used, when incinerated as waste, PVC plastic releases hydrogen chloride gas, contributing to acid rain and respiratory health issues, and emitting climate-warming greenhouse gases. Landfill disposal is equally problematic, as PVC products can leach toxins into soil and groundwater for decades, posing risks to ecosystems and human water supplies, and also releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. There is no end route for plastic foam earplugs that does not result in pollution, whether in our sea, soils, or atmosphere.
PVC Earplugs are a Health Hazard
Equally concerning are the human health risks associated with plastic foam earplugs. These earplugs often contain additives and harmful plasticizers like phthalates, which can leach out during use. Phthalates have been linked to endocrine disruption, infertility, and developmental disorders. Alarmingly, researchers have detected phthalate metabolites in 98% of the U.S. population, indicating widespread exposure.
PVC is a toxic compound that imposes serious health concerns at all stages of its existence. The production of PVC involves volatile compounds at facilities that are often built near people’s homes and that experience frequent chemical accidents. In 2023, a catastrophic train derailment and explosion in East Palestine, Ohio, polluted and caused life-threatening hazards across a wide region. This train was carrying vinyl chloride, the extremely flammable and toxic ingredient for PVC plastic, among other toxic chemicals—the effects of which are still felt today. Vinyl chloride is a Group A carcinogen that causes cancer, birth defects, and a host of other health issues in people who are exposed. Those at highest risk of harm from vinyl chloride exposure include but are not limited to: children, due to their higher lung surface area to body weight ratio; firefighters and first responders; workers in facilities in the PVC supply chain; the millions of residents along vinyl chloride’s distribution routes; and residents near plastic production facilities, landfills, and disposal sites.
Despite its known toxicity and clear threat to human and ecosystem health, PVC plastic from vinyl chloride is still manufactured and used widely in building materials, children’s toys, packaging, and many consumer products, including earplugs. Earplugs are a predominately PVC product that millions of people around the world apply directly to their skin in their ear cavities. Due to the presence of vinyl chloride in PVC, putting PVC earplugs in your ears could be extremely dangerous. Because the skin lining of the ear canal is very thin, combined with warmed earplugs from body temperature, this product has a greater risk of chemicals leaching into the skin canal and posing long-term health consequences from vinyl chloride, among other plasticizers and chemicals that may be present in the earplug.
It’s clear we must protect and safeguard auditory health and wellness with a different material that doesn’t pose serious risks to ourselves and to our environment.
Mycelium Earplugs are a People and Planet-Friendly Solution
GOB has introduced the world’s first mycelium-based, home-compostable earplugs. Mycelium, the root structure of fungi, is a regenerative, non-toxic material that can be harnessed to unlock a wide variety of applications as alternatives to plastic products. Unlike PVC, mycelium-based products naturally decompose, leaving behind no harmful residues and replenishing nutrients to soils. GOB is working to replace billions of harmful PVC earplugs with regenerative replacements that don’t pollute the planet.
By replacing PVC and polyurethane with mycelium, GOB is reshaping the narrative around single-use products. The production of GOB earplugs generates significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional foam earplugs. Mycelium farms and supply chains don’t involve hazardous chemicals that pose risks to workers or communities. In fact, they can even offer farmers higher yields and better economic incentives than livestock and other carbon-intensive plants and animal products.
PVC and polyurethane earplugs may seem cheap, but their true cost lies in their harm to people and the planet, and reliance on fossil fuels. GOB’s mycelium-based earplugs, by contrast, are infinitely scalable, regenerative, and home-compostable. While this innovative material currently costs more to produce, scaling biofabrication infrastructure will significantly lower prices, making sustainable hearing protection accessible to everyone.
Beyond sustainability, GOB earplugs deliver superior performance, filtering all sound frequencies roughly the same. This creates a clearer, more natural experience compared to foam earplugs which distort sound by suppressing only high frequencies. With the potential to scale and reduce costs, GOB is paving the way for a future of accessible, high-quality, and regenerative hearing solutions.
The story of single-use foam earplugs serves as a reminder that even seemingly minor conveniences can have outsized consequences for both people and the planet. Protecting our hearing should not come at the expense of our health or the environment. With innovations like GOB’s earplugs, we can safeguard both, creating a more regenerative and responsible future.
GOB mycelium earplugs are now available to the public for purchase.
