Five Choices Available for an Eco-Friendly Casket

Although choosing a "green burial" may seem like it would restrict your choices, it also opens up a whole lot of other choices that you may not have considered. For example, when selecting your casket, you don't have to scroll through endless ornately carved wood caskets and shiny steel ones; instead you can choose between a variety of natural materials, considering which materials are the most meaningful as well as considering the sustainability of their production. Here are some of the types of eco-friendly casket materials you can choose from.

1. Willow

Willow wands can be woven into a winsome basket in the shape of a coffin or casket. This material is less solid than many others (such as wood) and allows the remains to become one with the earth more quickly. It has a great presentation, too; in addition to looking like an old-fashioned basket, it can be lined with attractive, eco-friendly fabric.

2. Bamboo

Bamboo can be more sustainable than wood, but it really all depends on how it's grown and processed. You should look for fair trade bamboo and read up on the company's policies and eco-friendly practices before you choose a bamboo casket. Bamboo is frequently woven into a wicker basket like willow and is quite handsome as well.

3. Cardboard

Although cardboard doesn't sound like a sturdy enough material to bury your remains in, these caskets are made of super-strength cardboard that will do the job admirably. The caskets are plain, but many families see the blank whiteness as a blank slate, and decorating the casket together as a family can be a unifying and comforting experience.

4. Eco-friendly wood

Although most wood caskets are created from mainstream wood that may or may not have been grown and harvested sustainably, you can probably find a company that focuses on using only sustainably sourced, planet-friendly wood for its caskets. This is great if you want a traditional look to your casket.

5. Biodegradable plastic

Biodegradable plastic is another alternative for a casket that has a lessened environmental impact. You can reduce the environmental impact to almost zero if you make sure that your casket is made of 90-100% post-consumer recycled material.  

These five options show what an array of materials for eco-friendly caskets are out there, all of them different. If you're looking for a casket that will biodegrade as quickly as possible, you may wish to choose cardboard, whereas if you want a more whimsical sendoff, a willow basket might be more your style.  

Talk to a funeral planning service like Los Angeles Funeral Service to discuss these and other casket options.

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