Death can be expensive — and kind of boring. The U.S. funeral industry rakes in close to $20 billion a year, with the median cost of traditional burials exceeding $8,500 per person.
Today’s cash-strapped young people are questioning why they would want to pay so much just to be put in a fancy box or burnt to a crisp. They’re not alone: Older folks are seeking alternatives as well, but mostly for monetary reasons.
According to U.K.-based Simplicity Cremations’ spokesman Mark Hull, the shift from traditional burials transcends generations.
“The way we want to be remembered is changing radically,” Hull notes in the Independent. “Older people are certainly moving away from traditional memorials, partly because of practical reasons such as cost and the need for upkeep.” Only 16 percent of older age groups in the U.K. liked the idea of a gravestone or some kind of marker.
Things aren’t much different on our side of the pond. For the first time, cremation rates have actually surpassed burial rates in the U.S. The Neptune Society’s ubiquitous ads seem to be working.
Meanwhile, younger generations are a bit less conventional than their parents and grandparents.
“Younger generations are certainly looking for more creative and physical ways to be remembered, which is surprising as most of their lives will be lived in the digital world,” Hull said.
According to research from Simplicity Cremations, one in four young Brits want their ashes to be compressed into a vinyl record. Nearly half of those who said they’d like to be cremated fancied the idea of turning their ashes into a diamond. Moreover, 25 percent of those under age 25 would like their ashes to be used to generate power.
Young tree huggers have popularized the concept of green burials, which tend to cost less and use fewer synthetic chemicals. With green burials, everything that goes in the ground is as biodegradable as a body. That could include a cardboard or pine casket, a cotton shroud, or even an urn made from pink Himalayan salt.
A video uploaded to the Facebook page “Be Inspired. Aspire.” about biodegradable burial capsules has gone viral, with more than 41 million views. These “organic burial pods” contain a tree or a seed that is fertilized by the decomposing corpse, and they are planted in the ground to memorialize the dead. It’s charming — once you get over the dead body curled up in the center of it.
While cremation continues to pick up steam with the older folks, young people are questioning how “natural” it is. According to some estimates, the amount of energy required to cremate a body would power a 500-mile road trip.
Experts say that as Gen Xers, millennials, and Gen Zers have to make their parents’ funeral arrangements, they will start thinking about making “greener” plans for their own burials.
As generations seek out new ways to dispose of themselves, the funeral industry will need to adapt or suffer a slow death. Then again, burial pods may just be the final nail in the coffin.
Brendan Pringle (@BrendanPringle) is writer from California. He is a National Journalism Center graduate and formerly served as a development officer for Young America’s Foundation at the Reagan Ranch.
