The Difference Between Live Moss and Preserved Moss

Background on Moss Pure – Live Moss Walls

Moss Pure uses 100% Live Moss With No Watering Needed!

Moss Pure was created at a startup competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where it won First Place Startup in its track in June 2020 (MIT Lebanon Challenge). Moss Pure is the world’s first company to use 100% living moss as an air filter and stress relief device without needing any watering. This is due to our patented and award-winning science. We are not just adding living moss to a frame or decor piece. There is extensive biology and engineering used in our designs – all while being an aesthetically pleasing focal piece in your business and home. It was important to our design that although Moss Pure has a lot of science involved, it wouldn’t look like a scientific device, but a piece of luxury art used to elevate and transform spaces. This alone was incredibly innovative because scientific devices in the scientific industry are not made to be aesthetically pleasing. But we wanted to be innovative and disruptive – and worked with our customers to come up with our award-winning designs.

Moss Wall Art: Live Moss vs Preserved Moss

If you’ve seen moss decor out and about, it’s most likely preserved moss. Most companies use preserved moss or dried moss, which are no longer living. Preserved moss is treated and processed with chemicals to no longer make the moss living, to soften the moss, and then dyes to make the moss usable as an art piece. Preserved moss may also create a smell or odor. It’s not normal for a living plant to give off this smell. This smell is characteristic to preserved moss. 100% living moss does NOT have a smell. Moss Pure uses 100% LIVING moss.

Preserved moss may need complete replacement and may not last

Imagine investing time, value, and money into a preserved moss wall or a living plant wall only having to continuously replace it. Moss Pure uses 100% living moss that is built to last with no maintenance or watering needed – due to our patented multi-engineered device that is inserted into every moss wall.

Furthermore, some preserved moss is “reindeer moss” which isn’t even a type of moss or a type of plant. The “reindeer moss” is a lichen. It undergoes treatment with chemicals and can be processed in multiple steps. Therefore, its composition may be completely changed to become a material used for art. From a material perspective, since it is preserved, the moss now becomes like a piece of carpet on your wall – which could attract mold, dust, fading and may need maintenance or replacement.

We created Moss Pure during a startup competition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where it won First Place Startup in 2020. During the MIT competition, we realized that most moss walls and decor out there is made out of preserved moss. Preserved moss is no longer living. During the preservation process, moss is treated with chemicals and then can be dyed different colors. Because the moss is no longer alive, the moss can be brittle and stiff and not look living, and have a different aesthetic than living moss. Preserved moss can have a distinct smell. The dyes and chemicals in the preserved moss can come onto your hands and clothing. The picture below shows how the preserved moss chemicals can stain your hands. Some types of preserved moss is made out of reindeer moss, which is not a type of moss or a plant but a type of lichen.

Reindeer Moss is not a type of moss and may need replacing and maintenance

As you can see in the picture below, preserved moss, including preserved foliage, is chemically treated so that it is no longer living and can be used as an art material. The material composition is now changed since it is no longer living. Preserved moss can fade, fall apart easily, have a smell, and attract dust and mold. The picture below is a preserved moss sample from a customer only 2 years after it was made.

Moss Pure was created with live moss by feedback from customers

During the MIT competition, we spoke with 150 customers in the United States. These customers wanted live moss without needing watering or maintenance. Most existing living wall products out there used a lot of water and electricity. They were bulky and not aesthetically pleasing. At the time and to our knowledge, no other company was able to keep live moss alive for more than a few days. And no other company was able to create an air filter made out of live moss that worked. That’s when we created Moss Pure – the first company to use live moss to improve your air quality and provide therapeutic relief – without needing watering, sunlight, or maintenance. We do this using our patented and proprietary science, called The Moss Sauce. The Moss Sauce creates a living environment without our products for the live moss, extending its life from days to years.

Live Moss and Moss Pure

Live moss is different from many plants. There are several misconceptions about moss, especially on the internet. The truth is that moss is a very diverse plant. Many plants that have the word moss in their generic name aren’t actually moss. For example, peat moss, which is used in gardening, is not a plant and is not a type of moss. It’s a fertilizer in soil used to help plants grow. Also, reindeer moss is used in preserved moss wall art and isn’t even a type of moss or a type of plant.

We use our own species of 100% living moss. The moss used in Moss Pure’s patented science was carefully selected to work with our science and is naturally grown and harvested by our own farmers throughout the United States. The secret to making our products work is our patented science. That’s why we call our science the Moss Sauce. Because without our science (the Sauce), live moss would not be able to live for a long time and would not be able to purify air. Our science is the reason why our living moss is built to last within our product without needing watering, sunlight, or maintenance.

Moss Air Filter That is Lab-Tested for Air Quality

Live moss on its own is NOT an air filter. We are not just adding moss to a frame. If you were to add moss to a frame, it wouldn’t last for more than a few days, would need excessive watering, and it wouldn’t be an air filter. What makes Moss Pure work is our award-winning biology and engineering. Using 16 years of expertise in engineering and science, our patented products were developed.

A product is not an air filter without certified air quality testing. In the United States you cannot say that your product is an air filter without passing certified air quality results from a third-party laboratory. Each square foot of our live moss air filter was found to capture 200 ppm of carbon dioxide within a 24 hour tested environment. Air quality testing shows that our multi-layered biological air filter improves your air quality.

Back in the 1950’s, there were studies that some plants are “natural air purifiers.” What most people don’t know is that per research, plants that are thought of as natural air purifiers take a long time to purify your air and don’t really improve your air quality. We didn’t want to use a “natural air purifier.” We wanted to create and design a multi-layered air filter that impacts your space – and we have the certified testing to prove that Moss Pure improves your air quality.

Our invention can be used to create any product and in any environment. Indoor and outdoor environments. Massive spanning walls and panels to small unique pieces. Extreme weather conditions (Dubai or Alaska). There is no limit to our design creativity or reach. 

How long does live moss last?

We mentioned previously that before Moss Pure, and to the best of our knowledge, no other company was able to keep live moss alive and sustainable for more than a few days. If you were to just take live moss and attach it to a frame, it wouldn’t last for more than a few days and it wouldn’t be an air filter. We use our patented and award-winning science to keep living moss alive in our products, while becoming an air filter and stress relief device. This is because of our patented invention and science.

Preserved Moss Walls

How long does preserved moss last?

After a timeframe, preserved moss needs replacement or maintenance. Also the dyes and chemicals used in the preservation process can react with light and sunlight and fade in color – and change different colors. The brittle moss can fall apart and need replacement.

Preserved moss smell

Preserved moss can have an associated odor. Some preserved moss companies describe this odor as “earthy.” In our experience and opinion, the odor associated with certain preserved moss products is not earthy and is distinct.

Living Moss vs. Preserved Moss: What’s the Difference for Air Quality?

Moss Pure’s patented technology integrates 100% living moss within an engineered air-filter system designed to improve indoor air quality.

Unlike Moss Pure’s living moss, preserved moss has undergone a preservation process and is no longer biologically living or active.

Moss Pure’s patented living moss system has undergone independent third-party laboratory testing, with certified analytical results demonstrating air-quality performance under the conditions of the testing.

The technology is built into every Moss Pure piece, combining living moss, patented engineering, and tested air-quality performance within an architectural feature designed for interior spaces.

Let’s Build Your Custom LIVE Moss Project!