Frequently asked questions
General
What’s the Loop Cocoon?
The Loop Cocoon is world’s first living coffin. The Cocoon is grown with mycelium, which gives your human nutrients in the most natural way back to nature while cleaning the soil. Let your valuable nutrients enrich the soil and be a source for new life to thrive.
What is mycelium?
Mycelium is the underground fungal network of mushrooms. If you walk in the woods and spot a mushroom, this might look like an individual plant or organism, but actually this mushroom is the fruiting body of the underground organism called mycelium. It’s like an apple tree: the mushroom would be the apple and the mycelium network is the actual tree. Mycelium even holds the Guinness World Record of the world’s largest living organism, measuring a total area of 965 hectares, equivalent to 1,350 soccer fields!
Why grow a coffin from mycelium?
In nature mycelium is known as the world’s best recycler, converting dead organic material into key nutrients for plants. A staggering ninety-two percent of all plant species rely on its ability to collaborate with micro-organisms to do this. Why wouldn’t we cooperate in this?
What makes this coffin so different from normal coffins?
It’s our mission to bring human nutrients back into the natural cycle-of-life in the most natural way. In only thirty to forty-five days the mycelium coffin itself has become one with nature again, after which its mission to clean the soil starts. Thanks to our modern life, the human body contains toxins like metals, oils and micro-plastics. With traditional burial methods, these toxins could pollute the soil. But the Loop Cocoon neutralizes these toxins, collaborating with bacteria and microorganisms, converting them into nutrients for new life. With the Loop Cocoon, the human body can quickly become a valuable source for nature, while enriching and cleaning the soil and allowing new seedlings to thrive.
How do you grow a living coffin?
Production with living materials looks quite different than traditional production of products. First of all, the coffin isn’t really produced, but grown! The mycelium grows in the Loop Cocoon mold, which is filled wood chips, allowing the mycelium to grow and act as a self-assembling biological binder. After seven days the mycelium has grown into the complete shape of the coffin, after which it’s naturally dried. This stops its growth and give the coffin its strength. The result is a unique, waterproof coffin that will only continue to grow again after long exposure to groundwater.
Is a mycelium coffin strong enough?
The Loop Cocoon is grown of mycelium, the underground fungal network of mushrooms. In nature this is a soft organism, but by letting it grow through wood chips and drying it naturally, this tight fungal network forms a strong and solid material with great building properties. The result is a strong, lightweight construction that’s able to easily carry over 200 kilograms.
Won’t the living coffin continue to grow immediately?
The power of the Loop Cocoon is its ability to completely give your body back to nature, without harming it with your human toxins. Looking at the coffin you won’t immediately notice that this product is made from a living material. That’s because the mycelium is dried naturally, pausing its growth. Only after long exposure to groundwater, the mycelium will start to live again. This means that the process of composting will start underground, after burial of the Cocoon.
How long does composting take?
The coffin itself will have become one with nature again in only thirty to forty-five days. The human body needs more time. The duration of composting strongly depending on the body itself, the soil quality and the climatic conditions. In collaboration with professors of the Delft University of Technology, it has been estimated to take 3 years to compost the human body with the Loop Cocoon (compared to the current 10 to 20 years it takes in traditional coffins).
Why is the ground of graveyards polluted?
Thanks to our modern life, the human body contains higher concentrations of toxins like metals, oils and micro-plastics. Recent studies have shown that our body contains 219 of toxins like these that could pollute the soil after burial. The result is that the soil quality of cemeteries can be highly polluted and in some cases it even gets disposed of as chemical waste. The Loop Cocoon can improve this situation, thanks to its ability to help improve and enrich the soil quality to allow new seedlings to thrive.
Where can I buy the Loop Cocoon?
You can pre-order one of the world’s first 100 living coffins via our website right now! The first few living coffins have already been sold, so now we are scaling up our production. These first 100 Living Cocoons will be produced in the coming 3-6 months and are available in Europe and the USA. Do you live in another area? Reach out to us so we can see what the possibilities are.
What is the price of the Loop Living Cocoon?
About the 'First 100'
What is the ‘First 100’?
When will the 'First 100' Living Cocoons be ready?
What are the shipping possibilities?
What are the options for partners and funeral homes?
Can I also buy this if I am not dying?
For how long can the coffin be stored?
Where can I find more information about the Loop Cocoon?