Casket isn’t a word that typically comes to mind when you think of mushrooms, but innovations like mushroom-based leather, building materials, and compostable packaging have shown that mushrooms are much more than food. Loop Biotech, a Netherlands-based startup, has invented the world’s first biodegradable casket made of mushrooms. It takes the company seven days to “grow” the caskets, which decompose along with the body inside. They are off-white with the buyer’s choice of green moss, wool, soft organic cotton, or hemp padding for the interior. It looks closer to an alien cocoon than a casket…..in an eerie sort of way. The process starts with mycelium — living fungal fibers that form the root structure of mushrooms — grown in a casket-shaped mold. The mushrooms bind to the mold as it grows, forming a casket. Unlike traditional burials, which shield bodies from nature, Loop’s mycelium caskets assist the decomposition process by allowing microbes, fungi and plant roots to interact with the body via tiny openings. Loop’s goal is to offer an environmentally friendly alternative to wooden coffins, which contribute to deforestation and come from trees that take a lifetime to grow. Due to synthetic materials and embalming chemicals, it takes a body 10-30 years to decompose in a wood casket. With Loop’s mycelium caskets, bodies decompose in 2-3 years, and the casket in just 45 days. The companies sells the mushroom caskets for $4,000 and has already sold thousands to families interest in sustainable burial alternatives.
