Post from Thoughts by Mary:
"Green" in Life and Death
| By Mary - Jun 4, 2008 7:46:09 PM ET |
| Also listed in: Algorism | Taking Action |
There's a growing trend in the United States, a trend that has been popular in the UK, but is only now starting to gain awareness and popularity in America. What is it?
Green funerals!
There are a growing number of companies and cemeteries, especially in California, Texas, New York, and Florida, offering biodegradable caskets and other environmentally friendly burial options.
Natural embalming services at these cemeteries do not include the use of formaldehyde, cement vaults, laminated caskets, or chemical treatments normally used in conventional burials. Instead, options include natural-fiber shrouds and fair-trade bamboo caskets lined with cotton (unbleached). If bamboo isn't your style, there are also other hand crafted natural wood choices. These biodegradable caskets run anywhere from $100 (basic cardboard) to $3,000 for a custom-painted wooden model.
Supporters of "green" burials say that these choices are far more environmentally friendly than traditional burials, or even cremation (because of the fossil fuels needed for cremation). Everything used for a natural burial is fully biodegradable.
So is this a fad, or is here to stay? With the funeral industry generating $11 billion each year in the USA, the market is potentially gigantic. Perhaps natural burials will continue to spread across America and stick around as yet another great personalization option for burials.
Natural burials are another example of how we're moving forward by adopting methods of yesterday. After all, people were buried without chemicals and steel for ages. These days, more and more people are becoming more environmentally minded throughout their lives. Now it's time for us to embrace nature in our deaths as well.
For more information on natural funerals and burials, visit these websites:
http://www.naturalendings.co.uk/index.asp
http://naturalburial.org/
http://www.naturalburialcompany.com/
Green funerals!
There are a growing number of companies and cemeteries, especially in California, Texas, New York, and Florida, offering biodegradable caskets and other environmentally friendly burial options.
Natural embalming services at these cemeteries do not include the use of formaldehyde, cement vaults, laminated caskets, or chemical treatments normally used in conventional burials. Instead, options include natural-fiber shrouds and fair-trade bamboo caskets lined with cotton (unbleached). If bamboo isn't your style, there are also other hand crafted natural wood choices. These biodegradable caskets run anywhere from $100 (basic cardboard) to $3,000 for a custom-painted wooden model.
Supporters of "green" burials say that these choices are far more environmentally friendly than traditional burials, or even cremation (because of the fossil fuels needed for cremation). Everything used for a natural burial is fully biodegradable.
So is this a fad, or is here to stay? With the funeral industry generating $11 billion each year in the USA, the market is potentially gigantic. Perhaps natural burials will continue to spread across America and stick around as yet another great personalization option for burials.
Natural burials are another example of how we're moving forward by adopting methods of yesterday. After all, people were buried without chemicals and steel for ages. These days, more and more people are becoming more environmentally minded throughout their lives. Now it's time for us to embrace nature in our deaths as well.
For more information on natural funerals and burials, visit these websites:
http://www.naturalendings.co.uk/index.asp
http://naturalburial.org/
http://www.naturalburialcompany.com/
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