Distressing

Clearing the hedge, I noticed this green crust on some rotten wood.
 I had a hunch there was something interesting about it. 
Yes, Trichoderma viride is a fungus that kills other fungi, in fact it's widely marketed as a biocontrol agent to eradicate plant pathogens on food crops.

Moreover, lab testing has revealed it to have antioxidant, anticancer, antiviral and antibacterial properties and further research is recommended to consider its application for pharmacological and medicinal purposes. It might be the solution to all our problems?


If that's not enough another member of the Trichoderma family is used to create 'stone-washed' jeans. You thought they were left for weeks in mountains streams weighed down with pebbles? Not so, a fungal culture introduced into vats of box-fresh jeans partially digests the cloth giving it a 'distressed' appearance. 


Much more distressing is this report on sexual abuse and exploitation in the jeans industry in poor countries where women working in factories have no choice but to surrender or lose their jobs. The pandemic has made the situation more desperate.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/aug/20/fashion-industry-jeans-lesotho-garment-factory-workers-sexual-violence