For some recycling, and becoming energy efficient is not enough in life. The new hotness is not only treading lightly on the earth, but leaving a small ‘footprint’ on the earth in death.

Biodegradable coffins are part of a larger trend toward "natural" burials, which require no formaldehyde embalming, cement vaults, chemical lawn treatments or laminated caskets. Advocates say such burials are less damaging to the environment.

The Natural Burial Company offers up eco-friendly burial products such as the recycled paper Ecopod - or our Seagrass and Bamboo Coffins - or handwoven willow caskets.

From their website :

The environmental impact of current funeral and cemetery practices is growing too clear to ignore. Everything we bury now that does not degrade thoroughly over time is there for the next generation to dig up and pay to restore tomorrow. The future costs of clean-up are rising everywhere. Savvy developers know that. So do citizens and cemetery owners. Green burial grounds are taking off in the UK and they''ll catch on in the USA - of that, we're sure.

This isn’t a flash in the pan fad either. Nope. In fact there is even a Green Burial Council. The council wants to make burial sustainable for the planet, meaningful for the families, and economically viable for the provider.

Although most people don't feel like discussing death, it's nice to know that true die-hard eco-ists will check out green burials before utlimately biodegrading into the earth some day.