Thinking about a more sustainable afterlife?

October 31, 2022

Photo: Loop

We are, after all's said and done, just bags of nutrient rich compost. Dutch company Loop want us to recognise this through advocating that people be buried in compostable, fungus tombs.

Loop's living coffin is the first of its kind and is made from mycelium, or fungus, and it is resonating with people across the globe.

The concept is not new. In fact, up until around 100 years ago, humans practised simple, more sustainable burial practices. Today, with recent events and the advent of global heating and the imminent climate crisis, more and more people are turning back to basics and thinking 'I have spent a lifetime taking from this planet, and now I want to give back what I can in death'.

Mycelium. Photo: Loop

Mycelium is a magical material which helps bodies to decompose in an environmentally kind way. The fungus attaches itself to the body and the earth, tapping into a neural-like underground network and sending a message to biodiversity which says 'Come and feast!'. The fungus also focuses on removing harmful metals such as lead from the body and as a result, these metals are kept from polluting our waterways.

Loop's biodegradable coffins look like regular coffins in size and shape but they look and feel completely different. Some resemble marble and are soft to touch like velvet, while others resemble rough finished fibreglass and are course to touch. These differences are caused by the conditions in which the fungus is grown.

Living coffin. Photo: Loop

Open up the lid and you find a layer of wet moss which looks cool, but it also aides in helping the body to decompose more rapidly.

Mycelium and moss. Photo: Loop

The design consideration extends further into the urban landscape of our towns and cities, where rows and rows of headstones are becoming less of a common sight.

Vampires definitely won't be queuing up for this one but for mere mortals, a green afterlife of eternal giving is definitely the way to go.

Happy Halloween!