Archive for the ‘Green Funerals’ Category

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Planning a Non-Denominational Funeral

Monday, June 24th, 2019
Planning a Non-Denominational Funeral

Planning a Non-Denominational Funeral

If you belong to a particular religious or cultural community, there are probably guidelines for planning and holding a funeral. For thousands of years, funeral rites have been tied to religion, which may dictate everything from how many days should pass before you bury the deceased to how the body is disposed of. So, too, may religion guide who oversees the funeral rites, what readings and prayers are said, and even how the community will come together to support the family in the days and weeks that follow. (more…)

Inexpensive Urn Ideas

Friday, May 31st, 2019
Inexpensive Urn Ideas

Inexpensive Urn Ideas

For some people, cremation is an eco-friendly alternative to burial that gives you more choice when it comes to memorializing your loved one. Instead of being tied to a gravesite, you can (literally) carry your deceased relatives wherever you go, and often in an elegant urn that can be placed on a mantle or otherwise displayed in your home. (more…)

Funeral Planning for the Future: The Mushroom Death Suit

Tuesday, November 8th, 2016
Funeral Planning for the Future: The Mushroom Death Suit

Funeral Planning for the Future: The Mushroom Death Suit

Finding cost-effective and environmentally-friendly ways to dispose of human remains is one of the biggest challenges of the funeral planning industry today. On the one hand, people want the age-old traditions that bring them comfort; on the other, those age-old traditions are responsible for putting 30 million board feet of wood and enough concrete to build a 535 mile highway into the ground every year. (more…)

How to Find Green Funerals in Your Area

Monday, June 13th, 2016
How to Find Green Funerals in Your Area

How to Find Green Funerals in Your Area

A growing concern for families all across the country is how to say goodbye to a loved one in a way that honors his or her lifetime—and also honors the planet we all share. It is becoming more and more apparent that our habits, trends, and traditions are not always the best for the environment, and any way we can shift our worldview to make more eco-conscious choices is a good thing. (more…)

How Much Does a Green Funeral Cost?

Monday, November 9th, 2015
How Much Does a Green Funeral Cost?

How much does a green funeral cost?

One of the biggest trends in funeral planning right now is the “green funeral.” Green funerals (interment options that are ecologically friendly and reduce an individual’s carbon footprint) appeal to people for many different reasons. The obvious reason—that it’s important to preserve the Earth for future generations—is one that most people cite.

However, green funerals also have the advantage of offering affordable funeral options to replace traditional burial. Because you’re avoiding many of the more costly steps of planning a funeral (a hardwood or metal casket, a vault in the ground, embalming, etc.), having a green funeral means you can not only save the planet, but save money, as well.

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Herbal Funeral Flowers

Wednesday, July 8th, 2015

 

Herbal Funeral Flowers

Herbal Funeral Flowers

One of the biggest trends in the funeral planning industry is to find ways to combine the traditions we’ve all come to recognize with more earth-friendly memorial options. From cremation to direct burial, there are dozens of ways you can reduce the strain on the environment when a loved one dies.

Funeral flowers are part of this trend toward simpler, cleaner burial, and many families opt to have “in lieu of” donations made or to cut out the flowers altogether. Another option is to give potted plants or useful funeral bouquets—ones that show your sympathy but also provide a secondary service. Funeral flowers that are also herbs or fruit-bearing plants do just that. (more…)

Coffin and Casket Furniture

Thursday, April 30th, 2015
Coffin and Casket Furniture

Casket and Coffin Furniture

For some people, using a coffin or coffin-shaped item for anything except burial is disrespectful for the deceased. After all, death is no laughing matter, and to make sport of other people’s grief can be a slap in the face during an already difficult time.

However, for other people, turning caskets and coffins into everyday items is a kind of art form. By normalizing death and the accoutrements of burial, they are not only making a statement, but also helping people to come to terms with the idea that we will all eventually move on.

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What is the Difference between a Casket and a Coffin?

Saturday, February 28th, 2015

What is the Difference between a Casket and a Coffin?Outside the funeral industry, the terms “casket” and “coffin” are often used interchangeably to describe the vessel in which the deceased is placed before being buried in the ground. Most people recognize both words, and are comfortable using both in situations related to death and burial.

In reality, a casket and a coffin are not the same things. A coffin (a term that has been around since the 1500s) is the traditional burial box we associate with death. Shaped to fit the human body (with six or eight sides, wider at the top for the arms and torso), a coffin is designed to be built fairly cheaply and with a minimum amount ofmaterials. Because many people in history built their own coffins, or hired a coffin maker to do it, the emphasis was on practical burial that didn’t put a strain on family finances. Coffins are almost always made of wood instead of more valuable metals.

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Containers to Use Instead of an Urn

Friday, January 30th, 2015

Containers to Use Instead of an UrnWhen you have a loved one cremated, there are countless ways you can dispose of the ashes left behind. People store them, scatter them, bury them, and put them on display. Some innovative companies even allow you to transform them into other types of objects, which range from records and diamonds to coral reefs.

For most families, ashes are kept in an urn or other container to be placed on a shelf or mantle. Because urns can be costly (and not always necessary), urn alternatives tend to work just as well.  (more…)

What Will the Funeral of the Future Look Like?

Tuesday, August 26th, 2014

What Will the Funeral of the Future Look Like?Although the funeral industry is typically slower to change than many other fields, there have been great advances lately regarding burial options, memorial services, and funeral technology. More and more people are turning to online platforms to share their grief and make their advance funeral plans, and the traditions of the past—heavy on the more ornate process of burial in a cemetery—are being set aside for more streamlined funeral options. (more…)

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