The Business of … Death

It’s the most unavoidable, least discussed purchase any of us will make: death care. American cultural taboos, emotional discomfort and general squeamishness mean that most of us would rather stay in the dark about what exactly happens to our bodies postmortem. As a result, the market for funeral services is a mystery to almost everyone. Until, of course, we need it.

With about 2.4 million funerals taking place each year, the US market is estimated to be worth about $20 billion annually. As the baby boomer generation passes, that number will grow. In half the states in 2022, for instance, there were more people dying than being born. The business of death care is changing with this generational shift. A new emphasis on simplicity, sustainability and autonomy is inspiring the work of people such as Ed Bixby, who champions nontoxic death practices as president of the Green Burial Council. Katrina Spade, the founder of the Seattle-based company Recompose, takes this philosophy a step further with her natural organic reduction service, a practice that’s also called human composting.