First published December 7, 2020.
The Living Cocoon is a coffin grown from mycelium, the thread-like network that fungi use to feed and spread. It was created by Dutch bio-designer Bob Hendrikx and his start-up Loop, and in September 2020 it was used at what was reported as the world's first funeral in a "living coffin", held in the Netherlands for an 82-year-old woman.
The idea is simple to describe: instead of a wooden or metal box that lingers in the ground for decades, the body rests in a container that the soil can break down within weeks, helping return the person's nutrients to the earth. Below we explain how the cocoon is made, what happens after burial, which claims hold up, and how it compares with other green burial choices.
What the Living Cocoon is
Hendrikx, who was 26 when the project made headlines and had developed it around Delft University of Technology, set up Loop to turn mycelium into products that replace less sustainable materials. The coffin is the company's best-known design. It looks like a pale, slightly textured pod and comes with a soft bed of living moss inside, on which the body is laid.
Hendrikx summed up his philosophy in a line quoted widely at launch: We are nutrients, not waste.
The pitch is that a burial can feed the soil instead of loading it with varnish, metal fittings and slow-rotting hardwood.
How a coffin is grown from fungus
Mycelium is not a plant root, even though it is often described that way. It is the vegetative body of a fungus: a mass of fine filaments, called hyphae, that grows through soil, wood or other material and digests it. Mushrooms are only the fruiting bodies that some fungi push above ground to release spores.
To make a coffin, mycelium is mixed with a substrate such as wood chips or plant fibre and packed into a mould. Over several days the filaments knit the loose material into a solid, lightweight shape. Hendrikx said at launch that growing one took about a week. The piece is then dried, which stops the growth until it is returned to moist soil.
What happens after burial
Once in the ground, the cocoon starts to break down as moisture and soil organisms reach it. Loop says the coffin material itself decomposes in about 45 days. The body takes longer: Hendrikx estimated two to three years at launch, and the company later described the process as taking a few years. Exact timing depends on soil type, temperature, depth and moisture.
For comparison, a conventional coffin made of treated wood or with metal parts can take many years or decades to disappear, and when the body has been embalmed or placed inside a sealed vault, contact with the soil is limited even further.
Which claims hold up
Early coverage of the cocoon repeated some of the more poetic claims around the cocoon. Here is how they look on closer inspection.
"You turn into mushrooms"
Not literally. The mycelium speeds up the coffin's breakdown and adds organic matter to the soil. Nutrients from the body re-enter the local ecosystem, much as in any natural burial, but the person does not become a mushroom.
"It cleans toxins from the soil"
Loop says the cocoon hosts microorganisms that help neutralise toxins. Fungi are genuinely studied for breaking down some pollutants, a field called mycoremediation, but how much a single coffin cleans a cemetery plot has not been independently measured. Treat it as a plausible benefit, not a proven one.
"Mycelium soaks up radiation"
This is an overstatement. Researchers have found fungi growing around the Chernobyl reactor, and some melanin-rich species appear to grow toward radiation sources. Lab studies and a 2018–2019 experiment on the International Space Station suggest such fungi may use or block some radiation, but the science is preliminary and concerns particular species, not the mycelium used in coffins.
How it compares with other green burial options
The Living Cocoon belongs to a wider movement known as natural or green burial. The principles are consistent: no embalming chemicals, a biodegradable coffin or shroud, no concrete vault, and a grave shallow enough for soil life to do its work. Embalming fluid usually contains formaldehyde, and US cemeteries are estimated to bury large amounts of steel, hardwood, copper and reinforced concrete every year, which is why reformers focus on these points.
Other choices include:
- Shrouds and simple coffins made of wicker, bamboo, cardboard or untreated wood. In the UK, there is no legal requirement to use a coffin at all.
- Woodland and conservation burial grounds, where fees can help buy and restore habitat. The first UK woodland burial ground opened at Carlisle in 1993, and there are now close to 300.
- Human composting, which turns a body into soil in a controlled vessel and is legal in a growing number of places.
- Water-based methods that dissolve soft tissue, leaving bones that are returned to the family.
A mycelium coffin can be combined with many of these: it suits a woodland grave, and it avoids the materials that critics of conventional burial object to.
Cost and availability
When the first funeral was reported in 2020, the cocoon was quoted at around US$1,350. Later coverage put it at about 1,495 euros (roughly US$1,570), before shipping. That is less than many conventional caskets, though funeral costs vary hugely by country.
Because the coffin is a living product, Loop has offered on-demand delivery only within Europe. Buyers elsewhere could purchase a voucher to redeem later, and the company has said it hopes to set up production overseas. Hendrikx has also said he would like policymakers to use burial fees to turn neglected land into new woodland, and Loop has explored mycelium for other products that usually rely on plastic or foam.
Questions to ask before choosing one
- Will the cemetery accept it? Some cemeteries require vaults or particular coffin standards. Natural burial grounds are usually the easiest fit.
- Can it be delivered in time? Check lead times and whether your country is covered.
- Does the funeral director know how to handle it? A lightweight, living product may need different care from a wooden box.
- What else is involved? Skipping embalming and choosing a simple grave often matter as much for the environment as the coffin itself.
Talking these points through early, ideally as part of a written funeral wish, makes it far easier for loved ones to honour the choice. As Hendrikx said of the first family to use one, the conversation itself can become a moving reflection on the cycle of life.
Sources: MIT Media Lab (The Guardian), 15 September 2020; The Guardian; Scripps News; Wikipedia: Radiotrophic fungus; Wikipedia: Natural burial.
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