Turn Your Loved One Into a Tree With Bios Urn

If you've ever had a beloved pet, you've undoubtedly experienced some level of distress when considering the inevitability of your furry friend passing away. Thanks to a company called Bios Urn, you can forever memorialize your pet in the form of — what could be more natural? — a tree. And Bios Urn provides the same service for the burial of human remains as well.

Bios Urn, which calls itself "the world's first biodegradable urn designed to turn a person or a pet into a tree in the after-life," aims to solve the dual modern world problems of sky-high funeral costs and increasing lack of burial space. As an alternative, the company introduced the idea of using the cremated remains of loved ones to plant trees. The design and manufacture of the urns "provide proper germination and aids in growing a tree with a person's ashes. In this way, death becomes a transformation and return to life through nature."

Bios Urn Pets works the same way and can contain any tree seed, shrub or plant and can be planted in any natural environment.

Other companies have also jumped on the pet-to-tree transformation bandwagon. The Living Urn offers customers the opportunity to grow their pet's ashes into a tree seedling of their choice, using a "proprietary ash neutralizing agent" and aged wood chips. The company also sells a PlantUrn for Pets, which holds the ashes of a pet, plus a living succulent or other plant as an organic tribute. Seattle-based company Rooted provides "an aftercare service to ecologically honor companion animals." In addition to offering a "green" alternative to traditional flame-based cremation, the company creates compost from deceased pets that's either used on their own farm, shared with tree planting partners or sent back to the customer for their own planting wishes.

Prices vary depending on the product, but if you're intrigued by the idea of preserving your pet's or loved one's memory in the form of plant life, you can expect to pay somewhere between $100 and $140, depending on which company you choose. While the concept may take some getting used to for some people, proponents say it's helped them heal from loss. According to Bios Urn's website, "Our only hope is to provide comfort and a positive alternative to those who have experienced loss, and to provide a voice for those willing to share their unique stories."

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