Green funerals are becoming more popular

Cardboard coffins, shell-shaped urns and fireworks that can be packed with people's ashes were met by smiles at the Natural Death Center's Green Funeral Exhibition Saturday in London.

Britain has been a world leader in eco-friendly funerals for years and is a source of green burial products and ideas for countries like the United States, where the idea is just starting to catch on.

Green funerals attempt to be eco-friendly in every stage of the burial. Clothes are sewn from natural fibers. Coffins are constructed from biodegradable materials, and the burial plot itself is in an untamed natural setting. The idea is to leave as little mark on the Earth as possible.

"People are trying to think about what's the best way to live and with that, what's the best way to die," said Roslyn Cassidy, a funeral director for Green Endings, which provides eco-friendly funerals.

People know funerals can be expensive, Cassidy said. "So they want to spend that money greenly."

However, funeral directors say there are misconceptions about the costs of a green funeral. Some people expect them to be as cheap as a do-it-yourself project, while others expect price hikes similar to what grocers charge for fair trade food.