Start-up is producing biodegradable mushroom caskets for wholesale distribution

August 27, 2024/Products/

This article and news story video from Fox 43 of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, will introduce you to a small Franklin County, Pennsylvania, farm where owner Max Justice is on “a mission to bury the way we are buried”. Justice’s farm is producing biodegradable caskets made from fungi, hemp, and mushroom mycellium. By the time the caskets are hardened after being put in a “kiln” they are available for shipment to your funeral home.

Here’s the website introducing Setas Eternal Rest as the product is called. On the website coffins are available for $1,995 and urns made by the same process are available for $ 995. According to the print article, Setas Eternal Rest is producing one casket per week and in the process of working with funeral homes and beginning to ramp up production.

Here’s what the Setas Eternal Rest website says about the product:

“Crafted with care and consideration, our coffins and urns are made from a unique blend of fungus and hemp, resulting in products that are not only beautiful but also environmentally friendly. With a commitment to sustainability at the core of our ethos, our coffins and urns are 100% sustainable, carbon-negative, toxin-free, and biodegradable.

Our biodegradable coffins are designed to facilitate the natural decomposition process, ensuring a gentle return to the earth in harmony with nature. In less than two and a half years, our coffins break down entirely, allowing the body, including the teeth, to return to the soil without leaving a trace.”

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take: This past weekend I received the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) “The Director” magazine and enjoyed reading and studying an article titled “NFDA Report examines State of our Cremation Nation“.

The article had a small section graphic which illustrated Short and Long-Term projections on deaths in the United States and what the projected disposition of those deaths will be moving forward. For instance, the projections showed that the United States had 3.089 million deaths in 2023 and projections show that by 2045 the United States will have 3.909 million total annual deaths — That’s an increase of 26% over today’s totals.

However, in 2023 “Burial” was the chosen disposition method of 1.064 million of those deaths . . . or about 34.4% of all deaths. In contrast, the projections for 2045 show that “Burial” as the chosen disposition will be only 519,150 in total. . .or about 13.2% of all deaths.

In essence, the projections show that “Burial” dispositions will drop by 52% or on a numerical basis, by about 545,000 casket units. . . . . If that happens there will be an incredible fight for market share among “green burial” providers in addition to today’s market share leaders such as Batesville, Matthews Aurora, Titan, and others.

“The Director” article projects that cremation as a form of disposition will increase 71% over the next 20-some years to about 82% of all deaths and “other” forms of disposition, which I take to include Natural Organic Reduction (NOR) and Alkaline Hydrolysis, will increase by about 20% — but still only represent about 4.6% of total deaths.

From my point of view, I do believe casketed deaths, even when including green burials, will continue to decrease as a percentage of the total dispositions and also as a raw number. My “gut feeling”, however, is that NOR and Alkaline Hydrolysis will grow to at least 10% of all deaths by 2045 as the facilities for such continue to be built out and expanded. . . . just my opinion.

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