This $1,500 'burial suit' could replace coffins
Coeio
Imagine that instead of burying your loved one in a coffin, you dressed them in a garment that ate away at their remains, leaving almost no trace in the dirt where they once laid.
It might sound a little horrifying, but one startup is banking on biodegradable "burial suits" as the future of green funerals. The suits use mushrooms and other organic compounds to decompose and wipe toxins in the human body.
Jae Rhim Lee, CEO and cofounder of Coeio, launched the company in 2015 after years of research on mushrooms and funeral practices. She set out to create a coffin-killer that would reduce the harmful effects of burials on the earth.
Coeio
Our bodies contain heavy metals, pesticides, and all the chemicals we ingest while living. When we die, we're pumped full of formaldehyde to prevent decomposition. Those toxins then seep into the earth when we're buried.
Considering the lasting impact of traditional funerals, many are turning to "green burials" as an environmentally friendly alternative. A 2015 survey by the Funeral and Memorial Information Council showed 64% of participants expressed an interest in green funerals, up from 43% in 2010.
The organic cotton suit by Coeio comes embedded with a mixture of mushrooms and organic materials in the fabric. The mushrooms release enzymes that break down molecular bonds, turning toxins into simpler, less dangerous chemicals. Together, these ingredients aid in decomposition, work to neutralize toxins found in the body, and transfer nutrients to plant life.
Lee explains that when she was a child, her grandmother died of a stroke, and her mother never really recovered from the shock. Lee learned to fear death.
"I think a lot of us are scared of death. We don't talk about it. We don't plan for it," Lee tells Tech Insider. "It hurts us even more."
When she got older, she started to wonder how she might be able to transform our relationship with death, and plan for it in a way that provides some benefit to the environment. The idea for the "burial suit" was born.
Five years and three major redesigns later, the suit looks like a black rain jacket with white plant roots growing up the collarbone and sleeves. It lays flat, so that a caretaker can lay a body on top of it, fold the front, and button it up the sides with relative ease.
The pattern on the fabric is inspired by mycelia, the thread-like masses of fungi that grow underground, delivering nutrients across almost every square inch of earth and allowing plants to "talk" to each other. Lee says she incorporated the design as a reminder that we are a part of earth's biology.
Coeio
Each suit costs $1,500, which Lee says makes it price-competitive with the average casket.
A deceased person wearing the burial suit doesn't need a coffin. But if the idea of being so exposed six feet under seems a little creepy, Coeio also makes a burial shroud with more coverage and a casket liner for prospective customers.
No one has yet been buried in the company's burial suit, though many have volunteered their bodies for research on the suit's potential. The Mountain View, California-based company will start testing the suit using human cadavers and pig parts in Texas and Canada in August.
Lee is hopeful that innovative design can promote a greater acceptance of death. If people can reframe death as an extension of life — with bodies becoming plant food, or just part of the Earth — it might not be as intimidating.
"Accepting death is such a critical part of living life better," she says.
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