Forget Coffins – Organic Burial Pods Will Turn Your Loved Ones Into Trees

Modern burial practices are an environmental nightmare. Toxic chemicals from the embalming process leach into the air and soil. Caskets and burial vaults use a ton of materials. And memorial parks clear acres of land while soaking up significant amounts of water and pesticides to keep lawns green. And cremation isn’t any better. It, too, releases noxious chemicals into the atmosphere in the process. What, then, is the most environmentally friendly way to die? “The best way is to allow your body to feed the earth or ocean in a way that is sustainable for future generations,“ says Susan Dobscha — a professor of marketing at Bentley University and editor of an upcoming book about the green burial industry, “Death and a Consumer Culture“ And a team of two Italian designers have devised a concept on how to do that. Their project, called Capsula Mundi, aims to create eco-friendly egg-shaped burial pods that will house a body in place of a casket. The corpse will be plac