Forest Hill funeral director offers first ‘living coffin’

The coffins are grown out of pliable mycelium – a mat of fibres and upcycled hemp plants – rather than traditional wood.

The mycelium, which grows like thread, aids decomposition by breaking down biological matter – biograding within just 45 days. Mycelium is the root structure of mushrooms.

Made by Dutch company Loop Biotech, the coffins can be grown in just a week and “feed the earth with your very own nutrients”.

(Image: SWNS) Funeral director Poetic Endings in Forest Hill, were the first in the UK to offer one of these unique coffins – officially starting to stock them last week.

Founder Louise Winter, 38, said: “Brexit made it slightly more complicated to get things into the country, so I am thrilled that we can finally offer them.

“We are the first funeral director in the UK to fully embrace this. It is such a beautiful product, it feels like nothing I have ever touched. It is like the rind of brie.

“This is so original, I have never seen anything like it. We would really encourage anyone to consider it as an option.”

The quirky company say they were introduced to the mushroom coffin by the family of Max Leighton, who became the first British person to be buried in one in December 2024.

(Image: SWNS) After having such a successful service, and being so blown away by the product quality, Poetic Endings decided to stock them permanently.

So far, Louise says that the coffins have been extremely popular and the firm has received great feedback online.

She added: “The reaction has been incredible. At our launch event on Thursday people were blown away by how different and beautiful they are.

“The reaction on social media has also been amazing, people love the idea.”

Nick Leighton, father of the first British man to be buried in one of these coffins, said: “Max believed in the ‘Wood Wide Web’ – the underground fungal network that connects trees and sustains forests.

(Image: SWNS) “It was a natural choice to lay him to rest in the Loop Living Cocoon. It wasn’t just beautiful; it felt right.” Funeral firm GreenAcres, which operate Living Memorial Parks across the UK, are also now also providing the organic coffins.

Lined with moss, the £1,250 coffins are now available at six GreenAcres sites in Norfolk, Essex, Merseyside, Kent, Buckinghamshire and Hampshire.

Jane Kirkup, the firm’s managing director, said it is “delighted” to offer the service.

She said: “People are choosing to plant a Living Memorial Tree in place of a granite headstone. Families want to create a considered legacy – something that future generations will be proud of.

“The Loop Living Cocoon coffin not only avoids a heavy carbon footprint but enhances the quality of the soil, providing the most natural way to complete the circle of life.”

Bob Hendrikx, CEO and founder of Loop Biotech – the company behind the products, added: “Together, we can create an organic source of new life.

“We launched five years ago in the Netherlands and have been addressing the growing demand for biodegradable funeral products that enrich nature ever since.

“Teaming up with partners in the UK is an important step towards making our biodegradable and earth-enriching solutions available internationally.

“Sustainable funeral products help make the earth more liveable, for us and generations to come.”