Green burials, mushroom suits and water cremation: What families should know

(Aging Untold) — We all make choices about how we live and what we value. Some families put that same kind of thought into their final resting place, from the setting to the materials to the impact it leaves behind.

Some families decide on a green burial. If that is something you are considering, planning ahead matters more than you might realize.

What is a green burial?

At its core, a green burial means skipping embalming, Amy O’Rourke, an aging expert, said.

But the options go well beyond that.

“What I love about the funeral industry is that they’re offering so many alternatives,” O’Rourke said. “A green burial is something that applies to that environmentally conscious consumer and somebody that wants to be buried.”

O’Rourke said the first step is simply starting the conversation with a local funeral home — and asking a lot of questions.

“If that is really important to you as a consumer, that’s the conversation to start with the funeral home,” she said.

Mushroom suits

One option O’Rourke said she read about is the mushroom burial suit — a garment designed to neutralize toxins in the body and enrich the surrounding soil during decomposition.

Katherine Ambrose, an aging-well coach, noted that not every eco-burial trend you see online is grounded in reality. A funeral director she consulted flagged one popular misconception.

“He said, first of all, there is this myth that you can be buried in a tree root and that was actually maybe a story in Europe, and people latched on to it and it makes the rounds through social media,” Ambrose said. “And he’s like, ‘That does not really exist yet, but people ask about it.’”

Water cremation

Ambrose said she just started hearing about alkaline hydrolysis — sometimes called water cremation, a process that uses water to break down the body.

“The equipment to do that is very, very costly and so it may not be available in very many areas yet,” Ambrose said, based on a conversation with a funeral director. “But that’s something that people are curious about.”

She described the process as using roughly 95% water and generating a small amount of wastewater.

Alkaline hydrolysis uses water, heat and pressure to accelerate natural decomposition, according to the Cremation Association of North America.

Cost-wise, it tends to fall between traditional cremation and burial, O’Rourke said.

Planning ahead is essential

Whether a family is drawn to a green burial, a mushroom suit or water cremation, Ambrose stressed that these decisions can’t be made on the fly.

“It’s not something you can say, ‘Oh, let’s hurry up and make a decision this weekend after death,’” she said. “You need to plan in advance to see what local regulations and what local options there are, because it’s very specific to the area that you live in.”

Key takeaways about green burials

• Green burial: no embalming. It’s designed for environmentally conscious consumers who still want to be buried in the ground.
• Ask funeral homes about eco-friendly options. Options vary widely by region, so check with a local funeral director for what’s actually available near you.
• Plan ahead to consider local regulations. What’s legal and available for green or alternative burials depends on where you live. Research your area well before making any decisions.