The green death

Death can be messy. But there is a burgeoning market to make it less detrimental to the environment.

There are a number of eco designs on the market, such as the biodegradable earthsleeper and ecopod, which are both constructed from papier mache made out of recycled paper, and the bamboo eco coffin, which contains no harmful chemicals. Coffins made from wicker and willow are also available.

Even if you think an eco-friendly funeral is perhaps pushing things a bit far, these coffin designs look pretty darn cool. It doesn't make me shiver with anticipation at the thought of dieing, but it's nice to see some options on the market. I still think my dad has the right idea. He says he wants to spend part of his retirement putting his wood working skills to use making a custom coffin which will go up in flames with him.

Why the introduction of such groovy post-mortem receptacles? What is behind this push for cool eco-friendly coffins?

Jarvis believes the recent increase in demand for green funerals is being driven by the baby boomers - the first generation to become really interested in the environment. "They want to carry their values forward into funeral provision", he says.

Ah, yes, the baby boomers. All hail the post WWII consumer class. I wouldn't say that baby boomers were really the first environmentally aware generation. Many of the American pioneers of old left Europe to escape crowded cities and get back to the land. They just had different ideas of what it meant to be environmentally conscious. To them, living in a broad new frontier, a pine box was ideal. And none of those nasty embalming fluids mucking up perfectly good soil.