Core77

Eco-funerals are nothing new: we've seen the coffin industry take off with cardboard, recycled paper and even vintage models, but few are the designs that actually marry form and function. Enter the eco-urn Spirit Tree, a biodegradable cinerary urn that transforms into a living memorial in the form of a tree. Granted, the topic is a bit morbid, but the design is lovely. Fill the biodegradable urn with the remains of a loved one and cover it with the semi-porous shell top. Once planted, the bottom disintegrates, leaving room for a tree to grow through the center. The shell top remains intact until the tree trunk has grown to maturity, thereby breaking through the material and standing alone.

"The Spiritree offers a poetic life-from-death metaphor as a celebration of the loved one's memory, transforming the funeral rite from one of sadness into one of hope, all while promoting environmental restoration and awareness" said its creator, Jose Fernando Vazquez-Perez.

That's right, to top it off, the Spirit Tree is the only funerary product that is not only carbon neutral, but carbon negative - the life of a tree actually offsets the carbon emissions generated by the cremation of a body and then keeps capturing CO2 as it continues to grow. How's that for a lifecycle?!