Abstract
This chapter illuminates ways by which traditional ritual practices are thwarted or changed through consumer deflection, development of alternatives, or larger-scale disruptions. Based on qualitative data from three research projects in the deathcare space, this chapter reveals alternative ritual options that deviate from mainstream consumer culture. One project explores alternatives based on individual differences and sustainable choice-making, a second looks at an alternative based in collective subculture and community sense-making, and a third examines emergent alternatives based on cultural values, disruption, and forced choice. Bringing these three projects together into one space allows the reader to witness how rituals change at individual, community, and society levels in culture. Further, phenomenological inquiry into reef ball interment, sustainable burial, second-line funerals, and pandemic funeral services highlights the nuance of alternative choice in ritual design and performance. Consumer and provider narratives in these spaces emphasize how rituals are shaped by consumer values and illuminate divergent ritual choices across contexts within the same industry.