Especially popular is woodland burial, in which bodies are placed in bio-degradable caskets made of paper, willow or bamboo, then laid to rest next to a grove.
Flowers and trees are planted over the grave, so that the body becomes absorbed by the wood.
'The rate of growth in natural burial is exponential,' said Mike Jarvis, of the Natural Death Centre. 'It's infinitely faster than the growth of crematoria 100 years ago.'
Part of the appeal is the increased cost of conventional funerals. But environmental awareness also played a role.
The average price of funerals has risen by 61 per cent since the turn of the century, from 2,000 pounds (3,740 dollars) in 2000 to 3,300 pounds at present.
The Somerset Willow Company, which weaves basket-style coffins from local trees, said it has gone from making one coffin a month to more than 20 a week.
But ethical funerals are still far from a majority choice.
Natural burial sites are predicted to take up no more than 10 per cent of the funeral market by 2010, compared with the 70 per cent who currently opt for cremation.
