Eco-Friendly Caskets

     Santa Monica-based Gates, Kingsley and Gates Moeller Murphy Funeral Directors has announced that they will be offering eco-friendly wicker caskets.  The caskets are “designed to be part of a life celebration that brings comfort while aligning with an individual’s or a family’s values.” I think of this as being a great idea, because it looks at a funeral as a celebration and can be viewed as the one last thing someone is doing to be more sustainable.









     The wicker casket is made from sustainable materials such as "fast-growing willow, sea grass, and bamboo, which don’t require heavy machinery for harvesting, giving them a small carbon footprint". Although such materials as bamboo are probably shipped from China, the new casket is still a huge leap forward away from solid wood and sometimes even steel caskets. The wicker caskets have been approved by the Green Burial Council, which is an organization working to make burial more meaningful, simple, and sustainable.
     I know that these caskets may not be for everyone, but I think they're a great alternative for those who want to have minimal impact on the environment. Some might think they want their casket to be gorgeous, and their funeral to be spectacular, but the thing's going straight into the ground. I don't feel that just because I die I have to take a huge tree that has been around longer down with me. The wicker casket may not be as prestigious as a steel or solid rainforest tree casket, but it gets the job done.