This resource explores current & emerging eco-friendly death care options. You can learn about natural burial, water cremation, Home Funerals (D.I.Y), and human composting, along with trends in biodegradable products (such as mushroom burial suits) and state laws governing green funeral practices.
You can find natural and green funeral providers near you in our Green Burial Cemetery Directory, or visit our bespoke State Green Funeral Guides.
Human composting (natural organic reduction) is legal in 14 US states as of September 2026. See each state’s status, where facilities operate, pending bills, recent vetoes, and how to arrange it if your state hasn’t legalized it.
This article will help you understand your green and sustainable funeral options in North Carolina. Our vetted featured funeral home offers a green funeral package throughout North Carolina for $3,033. It includes: Basic services of the funeral director and staff, Removal of remains, Dressing and casketing, Local transportation to the cemetery, Unfinished Pine Box, & 3 death certificates
What does water cremation cost in the U.S., and how does it compare to flame cremation, burial, and green burial? A current, sourced guide for families weighing the choice.
For most of modern history, families in the United States have had two realistic choices for a loved one’s body: burial or flame cremation. That is changing. A third option — known technically as alkaline hydrolysis, and more commonly as water cremation or aquamation — is now legal in more than half of U.S. states … Read more
Water Cremation is legal in 26 States in the United States (at the time of publishing this article). More states are introducing approval legislation as funeral consumers continue to explore sustainable alternatives to current death and disposition options. To help you find licensed aquamation providers near you, US Funerals compiled a directory of known water … Read more
Complete guide from US Funerals covering all aspects of how to conduct a green funeral or natural burial in New York. Learn laws, legal steps, where to find providers and green burial sites. Plus other FAQs about arranging a green burial service.
Explore all you need to know about green burial, natural burial, or a home funeral in California. We cover where to find help, green burial cemetery locations and other FAQs about conducting a natural burial.
Natural burial—also known as green burial—is becoming an increasingly popular choice for families across Maryland and the greater DMV (D.C.–Maryland–Virginia) region. Many people are looking for a simpler, more environmentally conscious, and often more meaningful alternative to conventional funerals. This guide walks you step by step through how natural burial works in Maryland, what the … Read more
Green burial offers us the opportunity to return to a more ‘natural’ burial practice that was once the norm. A natural burial where no chemicals, steel caskets, or concrete burial vaults are used. Where there is minimum intervention, and the body is simply wrapped in a biodegradable shroud or container and buried in an earth … Read more
Aquamation essentially does what it says on the tin: it disposes of a body using water instead of flame. It is, therefore, deemed a more natural, ethical, and environmentally friendly alternative to cremation or burial. It is also referred to as water cremation, hydro cremation, or bio cremation. The scientific term for this process is … Read more
Green Funerals today – the shift from traditional funerals to cremation, to natural burial There is an increasing demand for more affordable and yet sustainable death care practices. Cremation has completely disrupted funeral decisions over the last decade. Largely, cremation simply became a more affordable alternative for many families who could not afford to pay … Read more
Why opt for a natural burial? Our funeral rituals have been changing over the last decade. There has been a distinct shift towards cremation services, and cremation now accounts for just over 61% of dispositions. However, we are entering an era of rising societal concern about climate change and carbon emissions. Is it time to … Read more
Overview – the shift from traditional funerals to cremation, to natural burial There is an increasing demand for more affordable and yet sustainable death care practices. Cremation has completely disrupted the traditional death care industry in the United States in the last decade. Largely, cremation became a more affordable alternative for many families who could … Read more
Arranging a basic cremation or natural burial and conducting your own memorial service Only a century ago, death care was primarily a ritual performed in the family domain. A greater number of people died at home, and families generally cared for and prepared their deceased without the intervention of funeral directors. Women often played the … Read more
Times are changing, and rituals we once considered a fabric of our culture seem to be shifting. A typical American funeral used to involve traditional expectations of an expensive casket, flowers, embalming, and many other costly add-ons. All this was very detrimental to the environment but beneficial to death care profits. In the last decade, … Read more
The Case for Green Burial a Franciscan perspective When contemplating Sister Death, remember Mother Earth! Now about death, you really don’t get a choice. Even though life has presented you with endless choices, large and small, sacred and mundane, roads not taken, bridges crossed, our pilgrimage through life always meets Sister Death. No one living … Read more
Green funerals cost less money and are friendlier to the environment. More people today have commented that they are unhappy with the way the funeral industry has convinced people that a traditional funeral is the only proper way to deal with a death. You know the kind of funeral service they mean, usually involves purchasing … Read more
If you decide to opt for a natural, green burial there are several options available in terms of purchasing, or indeed making, a natural, organic burial container. The whole idea with a green burial is that the body and container can decompose in a natural manner. In years to come all that should remain at … Read more
What is a ‘green’ burial site? There are currently approximately 166 registered green burial cemeteries and memorial woodlands in the United States. These are recognized natural burial sites, although some are hybrid cemeteries where both natural and traditional burials take place. A green burial cemetery is also sometimes called an eco-cemetery. As we explained in … Read more
Choosing to build or construct your own coffin is a unique alternative to purchasing a manufactured casket. It can also prove to be a personalized and inexpensive option. According to sources about coffin making, this can be quite easily done without specialist woodworking skills. With all our environmental concerns about the earth’s resources and pollution, … Read more
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