2 . At the age of 50, Nina Schoen expects to have a long life ahead of her, but has thought a lot about death—and why people are so reluctant to talk about it: “It’s going to happen to all of us,” she says, “but it should be a more positive experience than the fear we put into it.”

When she first heard about a new end-of-life process that turns the body into compost (堆肥), “I was really moved by the idea,” says Schoen, who became one of the first to reserve a spot with a Seattle-based company called Recompose, the county’s first funeral home to offer human composting.

Last year Recompose began transforming bodies to soil, more formally known as natural organic reduction. Before that, end-of-life options in the U.S. were limited to burial or cremation (火化), both of which come with environmental costs—U.S. cremations alone dump 1.7 billion pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.

Katrina Spade pioneering the composting movement has spent a decade developing the process in hopes of offering people a greener option for death care. “I wondered, ‘What if we had a choice that helps the planet rather than harms it?’” Spade tells PEOPLE. “To know that the last gesture you’ll make will be gentle and beneficial and it just feels like the right thing to do.”

After she had her own two sons, she began to wonder what she might do with her body after death. A friend who knew her interest in the topic reminded her that farmers sometimes compost the body of cows, and that sparked an idea for her theory: “If you can compost a cow, you can probably compost a human,” she thought, and she set about designing a facility to do just that.

“This is about giving people another choice,” Spade says. “At first, people react with shock—‘You really can do that?’ But so many people today are looking at their impact on the Earth. This is a popular thing because when you die, you can give back to the planet.”

3 . If you decide to become an environmentally-conscious businessman, you’ll need to know what alternative eco-friendly packaging options are available. So, let’s click and explore some sustainable packaging ideas for your company here!

1. Recycled and Reusable Packing Materials

Recycled cardboard and wrapping sheets are all readily available, being industry standard and made from earth-friendly organic materials. Using them can have an instantly positive impact on the environment, as millions of tons of cardboard boxes are thrown away as garbage every year.

Using recycled cardboard and paper will lessen this load and can decompose easily, keeping the planet healthy!

2. Recycled Plastic

It’s challenging when you have to choose a packing material for items that need extra support. Plastic, while environmentally-degrading, has long been an option for this, but the good news is that you can easily use recycled plastic from other plastic materials that have been thrown away.

These are much more eco-friendly and still check the box if you’re looking for green packaging options!

3. Eco-Friendly Fillers

Biodegradable packing peanuts are available which can be used instead of EPS or Styrofoam peanuts. They often work better than the regular ones and are easy on the environment as well. Similarly, bubble wrap is harmful for the environment, as it doesn’t break up, though you can use an eco-friendly option in place of it. One of the many options that you can use is a wrap made out of up-cycled cardboard to serve the same purpose as the bubble wrap. For insulation, you can use air pillows made of recycled plastic too!

4. Organic Materials

Cornstarch is an organic material taken from corn grains that has plastic-like qualities and can easily be used as a packaging material in many situations, making it a great option for sustainable packaging.

However, an even better organic option is mushroom packaging. With mushroom packaging, agricultural waste is added to mushroom roots to make organic packing materials. As it’s made from organic wastes, this is a great biodegradable packaging option that also won’t impact global food supplies!

Other organic materials, such as seaweed, are additional eco-friendly packaging options to seriously consider.

5. Organic Fabric

Sometimes, businesses use plastic bags for packing the items, though this is very harmful for the environment. Instead, organic fabrics are an excellent sustainable packaging option to consider. These fabrics include recycled cotton, hemp, tapioca, palm leaves and more. These bags are both reusable and very environmentally-friendly!

4 . The nation watched with horror as wildfire in California damaged the town of Paradise and surrounding communities. It was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history, killing 85 civilians and destroying nearly 14,000 residences. More than 50,000 people were left homeless.

Watching the news coverage from his home in Denver, Colorado, Woody Faircloth was saddened by the destruction. Many people found themselves homeless with nowhere to live. He just couldn’t imagine being in that position. He knew he wanted to do something to help. He set up a GoFundMe page and invited people to donate so they could purchase and restore a used RV (休闲车) for a family.

Through social media, Faircloth eventually got connected with a family of six that was greatly in need. Faircloth filled the RV with supplies and started the nearly 1,200-mile drive to California to deliver the vehicle. That first donated RV led to another and Faircloth had more than 100 requests for RVs from homeless families. Witnessing how great the need was, Faircloth turned his idea into a nonprofit organization, “we have a platform to help, we have to keep helping,” said Faircloth, whose group has so far given more than 65 RVs to wildfire survivors.

Today, only a minimal amount of rebuilding has begun in Paradise and a majority of the area’s displaced population is still homeless. Faircloth connects with RV owners interested in donating or selling their used RVs at a low cost. He refits the RVs himself and negotiates costs when he needs to hire professional mechanics for heavy-duty repairs. Once the RV is ready to go, Faircloth organizes a way to transport it to the survivors. The work is constant for Faircloth, who also has to do his fulltime job as an account manager. But seeing the impact of his efforts inspires him to keep going. “We have made connections with people at their most vulnerable (脆弱的) moment. It’s such a powerful thing for them,” Faircloth said.