Green Burials Gaining Popularity

Jay Castano knows that when he dies, he wants to be wrapped in a shroud and put straight into the earth.  “They can call it a Chipotle funeral.  They can wrap me up and throw me there and cover me up with some grass and soil.”  Although the 65-year-old has no intention to die soon, he does plan to become part of the “green burial” movement, which is a push to strip away the trappings of the modern funeral industry and get back to basics.  “I want to be part of a tree, be part of a flower—go back to being part of the earth,” he says. 

As many baby boomers head towards retirement and thereafter, they want something different, “something that not many other people are doing.”  While there are no firm statistics on how many natural burials take place, a 2008 survey by a funeral industry researcher found that 43 percent of respondents would consider having an eco-friendly burial. 

In recent years, green burials has seen a wave of entrepreneurs offering imaginative options for those who choose cremation: a biodegradable urn that contains a seed so a tree will grow from the ashes, a Chicago company that turns human ashes into diamonds; a British firm that presses ashes into vinyl records; and a field of Etsy vendors who will turn your loved ones into glass art or canvas painting. 

See Ellen McCarthy, ‘Green Burials’ Are on the Rise As Baby Boomers Plan for Their Future, and Funerals, The Washington Post, Oct. 6, 2014.

Special thanks to Naomi Cahn (Harold H. Greene Professor of Law, George Washington University School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.