Funerals, Fiber, and Fabric

Much of our discourse on green and natural burial is focused on the biodegradability and toxicity of casketed remains in a cemetery burial.  The five standards published by the Green Burial Council in 2011 for shrouds, urns, and burial containers extend our thinking on green burial to also include local-sourcing of organic or sustainable materials.  Let us explore the fibers and fabrics that are used in caskets and burial shrouds and how they measure up to our talking points on green and natural burial.

Organic cotton has a lower carbon footprint.

In previous installments of this column we've used five key talking points to measuring how green a funeral product or service might be.  The five talking points include biodegradability, toxicity, local-sourcing, sustainability, and carbon life cycle assessment.  Each of these talking points is evident in the Green Burial Council standards for burial containers, but not all five of these are necessarily in alignment all the time.  There are compromises to be made.  If we view each of these points through a lens of a harmonious and healthy environment for all living things, the compromises are easier to discuss.

The textile industry is the 5th largest contributor of carbon emissions in the United States followed by primary metals, nonmetallic mineral products, petroleum, and chemicals according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  World-wide fabric production consumes 1,074 billion kWh of electricity or 140 million tons of coal and 2 trillion gallons of water annually.  Here in the United States the textile industry accounts for 1 ton, or 5%, of every individual's annual carbon footprint.  So when it comes to maintaining a healthy environment for living things, fiber and fabric matter.

The impact of fabric production can be broken into two components.  First, there is the production of fiber to make thread and second, there is the energy required to weave thread or yarn into fabric.  The energy required to operate a fabric mill to weave threads into fabric is about the same for both synthetic and natural fibers.  The differentiation is on the production side.  Natural fibers like hemp and cotton are cultivated and harvested.  Animal fibers like wool also require land and water resources to raise and harvest.  The good news is that agri-fibers are renewable and sustainable.  While synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon do not have an agricultural impact, synthetics are produced from petroleum or other chemicals which have significant toxicity and carbon emissions.

Overall, the heaviest polluters and carbon producers are synthetic fabrics.  Polyester generates 21 lbs of CO2 emissions per ton of fabric produced.  Acrylics produce more than 25 lbs of CO2 and nylon is worse yet.  Domestic cotton by comparison, emits 13 lbs of CO2 per ton of fabric.  Organic cotton does not use nitrogen fertilizer.  Just 1 ton of nitrogen fertilizer emits more than 7 tons of CO2!  Domestic organic cotton weighs in at just over 5 lbs CO2 per ton of fabric produced.  Organic cotton emits less than 1/4th of the CO2 that is emitted by the same amount of polyester.  In short, synthetics are bad, natural fibers are good, and organic fibers are better yet.

Descriptions for conventional casket interiors include words like taffeta, velvet, crepe, pebble, chalet, and chiffon, but nearly all conventional casket interiors are made from polyester.  Polyester fabric is available in various different weave patterns and textures that are durable, wrinkle-resistant, and easy to work with for making casket interiors.  Polyester is less than half the cost of cotton and far less than the cost of organic cotton.  So from a manufacturer's perspective, polyester is a logical choice for making casket interiors.

Lyocell is a low impact fabric alternative.

If we revisit the talking points on greening the funeral industry, any natural fiber-based fabric is biodegradable and organic fabrics have a smaller carbon footprint. Local-sourcing, however, limits our choices in the U.S.  The Green Burial Council standards limit material sourcing to within 3000 miles making domestic organic cotton a good choice.  While some Egyptian, Indian, and Romanian organic fabrics may have a smaller carbon footprint than even domestic organic cotton, these materials compromise on the local-sourcing standard.

On a side note, there is a growing variety of green burial caskets made from natural fiber plants including wicker, willow, cane, seagrass, bamboo, and banana leaves.  While all of these are 100% biodegradable, few meet the local-sourcing guideline for distribution in the United States.  European willow caskets and Indonesian seagrass caskets must be imported racking up carbon emissions from transportation.  Some of these natural fiber materials also fall under scrutiny in their production practices.  For example, the bamboo industry, while touting the sustainability of bamboo as a renewable resource has become subject of criticism for cultivating in marginal waters, displacing local fishing industries, polluting waters, and unfair labor practices.  Seagrass production in Indonesia has been subject to similar criticisms.

Recently the clothing and fashion industry has been subject to scrutiny on fair trade, safe working conditions, pollution, sustainability, and carbon life cycle assessment of textile production.  There is a bright side to all of this scrutiny.  The textile industry has organized the new Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) to address the many issues in world textile production.  This new standard is a tool for an international common understanding of environmentally friendly production systems and social accountability in the textile sector.  The new standard covers the production, processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, exportation, importation and distribution of all natural fibers.  The standard is promoting the use of certified organic fibers, prohibition of all GMOs and their derivatives; and prohibition of a long list of synthetic chemicals (for example: formaldehyde and aromatic solvents are prohibited; dyestuffs must meet strict requirements such as threshold limits for heavy metals, no AZO colorants or aromatic amines and PVC cannot be used for packaging).  So there's a lot going on in the textile industry to change the way the fabrics are made to make for a healthier and safer environment for all living things.

So what is the Green Verdict for fabrics in caskets and burial shrouds?  We should look for fabrics made from

Natural cotton monk's cloth casket liner.

natural fibers for their biodegradability.  Organic fibers are slightly better in terms of carbon life cycle assessment.  On local-sourcing, domestic cotton is widely available.  Organic cotton is better from a toxicity perspective.  Cultivated fibers are renewable and sustainable materials.  Interesting alternatives not as easily available as cotton include lyocell, a wood-pulp fabric produced with low energy, fewer emissions, less water, and no bleach.  There are also eco-friendly fabrics made from plants including hemp, soy, and linen (from flax).  These, too, are great green alternatives to the conventional polyester, but not as readily available as cotton.  Animal-based fabrics including cashmere (from goat hair) and alpaca wool would be green alternatives, but are expensive and long-lasting and thus may be better suited to clothing than casket interiors.  Domestic organic cotton might be the greenest and most readily available option for natural burial caskets and shrouds distributed in the U.S.

Are There Green Alternatives to Concrete Burial Vaults?

Are concrete burial vaults bad for the environment?  The Green Burial Council's position on steel and concrete burial vaults is that they must be "not required" in hybrid burial grounds and that they are "prohibited in Council-certified conservation and in natural and environmentally low-impact burial grounds."   Contrast this with claims on some web sites and in advertisements by both funeral homes and concrete vault manufacturers that concrete vaults are "green" because concrete is natural, biodegradable, non-toxic, or otherwise harmless to the environment.  So some of us might be left wondering just what is the problem with concrete burial vaults when it comes to being green or promoting natural burial?

Concrete is all around us and is an inexpensive, long-lasting, multipurpose building material.  As an undergraduate student in civil engineering, I found concrete fascinating.  It cures by absorbing water (hydration) not by drying like many people think.  This magic rock-like stuff gets stronger with age--especially with continued exposure to water.  I was present for the ceremony in 1998 at UW-Madison for the 100th year in a long-running experiment load-testing concrete cylinders that had been mixed by undergraduate students in 1898!  Each year, the cylinders stored in a room with 100% humidity continued to grow in strength whereas those left in dry conditions had long since plateaued.  What could be wrong with concrete?

Concrete is made from water, cement, and aggregate (sand & gravel).  While water and aggregate are relatively easy to come by and inexpensive, cement is not.  Cement is 85% lime and silica by mass plus gypsum and trace amounts of aluminum and iron.  Cement is typically made from calcium carbonate that must be mined, transported, and crushed before being loaded into a kiln.  These kilns are 12 feet in diameter and as long as a football field and heat the calcium carbonate to 2700 degrees F producing lime and lots of carbon dioxide.  The foreign elements, including toxic heavy metals such as mercury and cadmium, evaporate off and the remaining marble-sized material called "clinker" is then ground-up into a very fine powder we know as Portland cement mix.  The high temperature kilns require significant amounts of fossil fuels to bring up to operating temperature so these kilns are run continuously.  There are about 100 cement plants in North America.  The cement is transported all over North America by rail and truck for use in our highways, bridges, buildings, and of course, concrete burial vaults.

The environmental impact of concrete adds up quickly.  To manufacture and distribute cement and then mix and transport concrete is very expensive in terms of carbon life cycle analysis.  The concrete industry estimates that a little less than 1 ton of CO2 is released into the atmosphere for each ton of concrete we produce--and this includes a 30% improvement in CO2 production from concrete since then 1960s!  On a global scale, concrete production accounts for 5% to 10% of the total world carbon footprint.  In 2010 the United States alone produced an estimated 63.5 million tons of concrete.  In that same year, the funeral industry buried 1.6 million tons of concrete burial vaults.  Surprisingly, the funeral industry accounts for 2.5% of domestic concrete production.

A single concrete burial vault weights 1800 lbs. and ranges upward to 3000 lbs.  For a 1 ton burial vault we produce about 1 ton of CO2 to manufacture and transport the vault to a cemetery.  This is the same amount of CO2 that a four-person family produces in about 9 days.  It takes a tree about 40 years to sequester 1 ton of CO2.

With the exception of only two or three states, Massachusetts being one, most states do not require concrete or steel burial vaults.  However, most municipal and church maintained cemeteries do require burial vaults.  Burial vaults do have a practical purpose and every vault manufacture's web site is quick to explain the safety and aesthetic value of vaults in preventing grave collapse.  A cemetery operator would also tell you it is far easier to locate neighboring graves with a thin rod when identifying where to dig a new grave if the adjacent graves are vaulted.  Aside from the Green Burial Council's position to forego the vault altogether, could there be a green alternative to the concrete burial vault?

There are some ideas among green-thinking funeral directors and cemetery operators.  One simple idea is to use a vault lid to cover the casket.  If the grave is dug several inches wider than the casket on all sides with a casket-sized channel at the bottom of the grave, the soil could support a simple slab--just a vault lid--and get the benefit of preventing grave collapse with less concrete.  We can do better.

There's no shortage of research on greener concrete.  Carbon tax laws in countries like Australia have implemented a tax of $25 per ton of CO2 produced.  While such laws and regulations are prompting the building industry to improve concrete production methods by adding fly ash, bottom ash, or slag.  One Italian company has developed a concrete that is supposed to fight air pollution.  The mix includes titanium dioxide that absorbs ultraviolet light and purportedly breaks down pollutants in the air that collide with the concrete.  The Jubilee Church in Rome is made from this type of concrete.  In any case, all of these attempts to make green concrete are minimal at best in reducing carbon emissions.  We can do better.

There's a new vault company on the scene--since 2009, that is.  Massachusetts-based, Duke Burial Vaults, markets a plastic burial vault that is five times stronger than concrete, ten times lighter than concrete, and costs less.  Before we get too far, yes, plastic (even recycled plastic) comes with some cost in environmental impact and carbon life cycle analysis.  However, at 140 lbs shipping weight and as much as $1500 savings over concrete burial vaults, Duke has a value-proposition worth a good look.  The vaults are made from polyethylene inner and outer shells with polyethylene structural foam molded in between.  Lighter. Stronger. Cheaper.  But is it Greener?  Polyethylene ranges in CO2 output of 1-3 lbs. per 1 lb. of product produced.  Even at 3 lbs. CO2, that 140 lb vault might be responsible for 500 lbs. CO2 even after freight distribution.  The National Institutes of Health final report on the safety assessment on polyethylene tells us this stuff is pretty safe.  Which is good news because polyethylene is widely used in cosmetics, food packaging, prosthetics, and various implant devices in medicine.  

So what is the Green verdict?  If one can forego a burial vault altogether, that is the greenest option.  But if a vault is required, a Duke burial vault is at least 4 times less harmful in terms of carbon life cycle analysis, and has almost zero impact in terms of environmental pollution.  And if you are a funeral directory or cemetery operator, the best news might be that this green alternative can save money and add a few dollars to your bottom line.

Concrete Burial Vault Facts

• Concrete Burial vaults range from 1800 lbs to 2400 lbs.
• 1 ton of concrete produces ~1 ton of CO2
• The concrete industry accounts for 5% to 10% of the world's carbon footprint
• The average household of 4 people in America produces 40 tons of CO2 per year
• It takes a tree about 40 years to absorb 1 ton of CO2.
• The US Congress has proposed carbon tax $25/ton of CO2-e (this already exists in Australia)
• Every year, we bury 1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete burial vaults in America's cemeteries
• The total concrete in made in the US in 2010 is a combined total of 63.5 million tonnes

Could Green + Gold be the New Black?

There's been an awful lot of talk in the last several years about keeping the funeral industry out of The Red.  Business is changing due to all kinds of trends: decreasing death rate, increasing cremation rate, rising employer costs, rising cost of health care, decreasing asset to debt ratios, and more.  Every one of these topics is the subject of news articles and op-ed pieces in every publication on- or off-line from which we opt to fill our minds.  There's no shortage of opinions on the profitability (or lack thereof) in death care service or where the industry is headed next.  One thing for sure is that for those fifth and sixth generation funeral directors, operating a funeral service business today is nothing like it was five generations ago when cash and bartering were the primary means of transacting business.

Last year in this column I wrote about the Golden Circle of Motivation as presented by Simon Sinek in a TED talk.  In about ten minutes Mr. Sinek makes a compelling argument for any commercial business to re-invent our marketing message to focus on why we do what we do.  Answers like "to make money" are not valid.  A business makes money to exist, it does not exist to make money.  Mr. Sinek uses breathing as an analogy.  We breath to live, not the other way around.  Typically most employees in a business can explain what they do.  Very few can explain how they do it.  And even fewer know why.  For some firms, nobody can articulate why their firm exists.  But those who can explain why, and can explain effectively, already have their go-to-market message.

Why do we make eco-friendly caskets?

In these contemporary times of volatile markets, political challenges, and ever-rising cost of doing business, it is hard enough to keep a business in The Black.  Add to our challenges this new breed of consumer with the loyalty of Benedict Arnold and the attention span of Sponge Bob inhaling more information in a minute today than our forefathers consumed in an entire month.  Could Green and Gold be the new Black?

Nine years ago, I built my first casket.  Eight years ago I sold my first "green" casket.  About five years ago I discovered, almost by accident, that people were more interested in why I build caskets than how I build them (the what has always been obvious).  Like many businesses, I had a web site that described what I was selling.  For a short period I thought I was clever in describing how I was achieving the what but I bored every sorry chap that read my web pages.  Then about two years ago I listened to Simon Sinek's TED talk and things haven't been the same since.  Sales have more than doubled in each of the two years since I have re-focused my go-to-market messaging on why I build environmentally friendly caskets.

I share this with you and anyone interested enough to re-think their marketing message.  For those of you who are 5th or 6th generation funeral directors, I applaud you.  For those of you just entering this industry, I applaud you.  You are both likely very close to explaining "why" you have remained in, or have recently chosen, this profession.  As for the rest of us… can we quickly and effectively explain "why does my firm exist" or "why am I a funeral director" to a 10 year-old?  Keep in mind that "make money" is a cop-out answer.  Not everyone's answer is the same--and need not be.  Your answer is your own--it is your Golden Circle of Motivation.  Making your motivation transparent for your customers will have a profound impact on both their attention span and their loyalty.

So maybe you get the Gold, but where's the Green in the Black?  I illustrate with my own experience.  I don't build caskets to make money--there are a lot of other ways I could make money, and some are far easier than making caskets.  And I don't just make caskets.  I make sustainable, eco-friendly, non-toxic, locally sourced, carbon-negative caskets because I am fascinated by the challenge of building a business on Smarter Planet ideas.  I plant lots and lots of trees because I believe that nobody can argue that planting trees isn't a great

Planting trees is a good thing.

thing.  I source raw materials and manufacture with local talent so that I can create jobs in my community.  This is my passion.  Before listening to Mr. Sinek, I was shy about my passion and kept my motivations private.  I now realize that not only was there no need to hide my motivation, but instead making myself transparent has only helped to build trust in personal relationships, longer attention spans, and true loyalty from our customers.

I invite you to find the why in your motivation.  Yes, I admit Green is arguably an already over-played marketing moniker and trend.  It is no longer relevant to a consumer to tout our wares as simply Green--that's not good enough.  Go for the Gold and tell your customers why you do what you do.  If you can sprinkle a little Green into that Gold I assure you will find yourself a whole new Black.

A Fresh Green Perspective on the Cremation vs. Burial Debate

Every year in America, more and more families opt for cremation as an alternative to a casket and a cemetery burial.  A trend that began in the 1960s with less than 4%, the cremation rate in the U.S. reached 40% in 2010.  With growing interest in sustainability some marketers have espoused cremation as a green alternative to a casketed burial in a cemetery.  Let us examine cremation with carbon life cycle assessment and our definition of Green as it applies to death care to also include political, economic, and toxicity perspectives in promoting a healthy environment for all living things.

A typical cremation includes a cardboard cremation tray or container and human remains.  Cremation uses high-temperature burning, vaporization, and oxidation to reduce human remains to basic chemical compounds including gases and mineral fragments. Crematoriums in the U.S. use a fossil-fuel powered incineration process that takes 2-3 hours for the stages of warm-up and burning with temperatures reaching 1800 degrees Fahrenheit.  An Australian study determined the combined release of CO2 from burning the fossil fuel, cremation container, and human remains is 350 lbs CO2.  Other sources suggest the carbon impact of incineration is closer to 600 lbs CO2 and depends on the mass of the human remains.  

The manufacture and distribution of a steel casket compares at 2000 lbs CO2--that is four to six times more CO2 than the cremation. The Australian study at 350 lbs CO2 compares favorably to a steel casket.  On the other hand, the carbon impact of a green casket made locally from sustainable material is just 50 lbs CO2.  In this comparison, a cremation has seven to ten times greater carbon impact! 

An interesting side note might be to combine a green casket alternative with cremation.  By substituting a locally made sustainable wooden casket as a cremation container, we can actually reduce the carbon impact. Cardboard is a water intensive process and 1 lb of cardboard generates almost 4 lbs of CO2 equivalents.  Interestingly, a 2011 Netherlands study revealed that cremation with wooden caskets result in less fossil-fuel used during incineration.  The wood serves as a renewable fuel source--thus the more wood used in the cremation container, the less fuel required during incineration. 

The toxicity of cremation is harder to quantify than the carbon impact.  Cremation generates emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, mercury, hydrogen fluoride (HF), hydrogen chloride (HCl), NMVOCs, and other heavy metals, in addition to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP).   For a human body that contains metal implants or dental fillings, the impact of incineration releases harmful dioxins and mercury--there is an ongoing debate on how to address mercury poisoning from cremation which the United States EPA believes is the 3rd largest contributor of air-born mercury contamination.  The United Nations has estimated that 0.2% of the global emission of dioxins and furans are from cremation.  While embalming is not required for direct cremation, circumstances that include a viewing or service prior to cremation often include embalming.  The toxic gases released by cremating an embalmed body are cause for further controversy over the health and environmental impacts of cremation.

One green argument in favor of cremation invokes the social, political, and economic factors of land use.  Studies in Australia and the Netherlands concluded that the carbon impact of cemetery maintenance alone could account for as much as 30 lbs CO2 per grave site every year.  Some believe that a casketed burial in a cemetery occupies precious land space that could serve other useful purposes.  The Netherlands study points out that land competition is a contributing factor for cremation if we consider the land use involved in producing the particleboard, wood, and cotton used in cremation containers.  Add to this the land use required to extract, refine, store, and distribute fossil fuels.  We should also consider that a large contributor to the growing popularity of cremation since the 1960s has to do with the acceptance of cremation by the Catholic Church.  The Catholic Church maintains that cremated remains must be entombed in an appropriate container in a cemetery, mausoleum, or columbarium--all of which occupy land space.  From a full-story perspective on land use by itself, cremation and cemetery burial might be comparable in environmental, political, and economic factors when it comes to promoting a healthy environment for all living things. 

I offer another consideration on the subject land competition when comparing cemetery burials with cremation.  America's cemeteries serve our cities, villages, and towns as green space.  Some cemeteries serve their communities in the same way that a park does by offering a safe and quiet place for a walk or exercise.  Cemeteries provide wildlife habitat for birds, butterflies, and squirrels as well as storm water run-off control.  More recently, America's growing number of conservation cemeteries for natural burials both preserve and protect lands for public enjoyment and for natural wildlife habitat.  Families concerned about land competition may be interested in options for nearby conservation cemeteries where funds raised through the sale of burial plots serve to maintain and protect the land for conservation, wildlife, and recreational purposes.

Every individual has the liberty to make their own choices when it comes to end-of-life care.  We in the death care industry must take responsibility for ensuring an individual's choice be an informed one.  We fail to serve our families if we are complacent in accepting an individual's decision without understanding the motivation or values upon which that decision was made.  That is not to say we should question an individual's values, but rather educate with factual content so that our families can make informed decisions in accordance with their individual values.  After all, isn't it our duty to inform our families without questioning their values or judging their wishes? 

What is the role of biodegradability in greening the funeral industry?

Very often the first question asked of me at a presentation on greening the funeral industry goes something like this, "Isn't the whole idea of a green burial to completely decompose within a few years?"  There are three ideas hidden in this question worth exploring.  First, notice the assumption that the green in green burial is entirely about a single idea.  Second, the question suggests that biodegradability is this single idea.  And third, I find it interesting that so many people believe that rate of decay has significance in being green--as if returning to our earthly elements should be a race.

Greening the funeral industry is not entirely about a single idea.  There are many perspectives we ought to consider when talking to families.  After many years of conversations, reading countless books and articles, and cognitive discourse with industry professionals, academics, and families on this topic, I have adopted a definition of green burial to include several perspectives such as biodegradability, toxicity, sustainability, local-sourcing, and carbon life cycle assessment.  These perspectives overlap and are interrelated.  I believe that being green is a matter of maintaining or improving quality of life for all living things in the environment as they may be affected by the creation, use, and disposition of a product or service.  This definition of being green applies to any product or service and the cradle-to-grave activities that occur as a result of our choice to use that product or service--whether directly or indirectly.

More importantly, I offer that we must further allow leeway in our definition of being green, especially when it comes to funerals, so that we accommodate the different perspectives of individuals.  People have different core values and various experiences upon which their own attitudes toward the environment and perspectives on green burial will differ.  As professionals in funeral service we must recognize that an individual who values sustainability and local-sourcing over biodegradability would not be satisfied with an imported seagrass or wicker casket though it is marketed as a green casket and is 100% biodegradable.  The more we learn about the core values and experiences of our families, the better we can assist them in making choices consistent with their values.

Why is biodegradability so often the first perspective considered in green burial?  First of all, biodegradability is not a new term and not nearly as complex as sustainability or carbon life cycle assessment.  Moreover, people are familiar with "ashes to ashes, dust to dust" and how this centuries-old epitaph suggests that returning to our earthly elements is as natural as it is green.  Then consider the fact that biodegradability is easy to quantify and measure--thus most green, natural burial, and conservation cemeteries have a biodegradability requirement or standard for burial containers and/or monuments.  Biodegradability is a good perspective, but it ought not be the only perspective if our definition of green is to include "maintaining or improving quality of life for all living things."

Let's think on this idea of rapidly returning to the earth somehow being greener than a slower return.  I believe this attitude may originate in individuals who are thinking about preservation through embalming, refrigeration, sealed caskets, and sealed burial vaults.  These practices invoke additional and interrelated perspectives such as toxicity, sustainability, carbon footprint, and land use.  However, the perspective on biodegradability alone is neutral, if not contradictory.  If we consider the pathology of decay for our human remains alone--without attention to the surrounding activities to accelerate decomposition (i.e. cremation, alkali resomation, cryomation) or decelerate decomposition (i.e. embalming, refrigeration) then the argument for biodegradability being green is moot.  Take this one step further and bring in the perspective on carbon footprint.  It would actually be better if our bodies were never to decay--somehow trapping permanently, or sequestering, the carbon that makes up a large part of our body mass.

The same is true if we consider the toxins our bodies accumulate throughout life.  A perspective on toxicity would suggest we contain these toxins or slow decay to give nature time to neutralize these toxins.  Take for example TED talk guest and award winner in designBoom, Jae Rhim Lee, and her Mushroom Death Suit. Her invention is a set of hooded pajamas laced with mushroom spores selected for their ability to cleanse the hundreds of toxins that accumulate in the human body during life.  Yes, that is disposition of human remains by way of feeding the fungi!  

Back to maintaining and preserving the quality of life for all living things in the environment.  Perhaps biodegradability alone should not be our first or most important perspective in greening the funeral industry.  It is an excellent start--easy to observe, easy to explain, and easy to write standards for.  There is precedent for biodegradability requirements in burial practices in many religions around the world including Orthodox and Muslim faiths.  It makes good sense to start with biodegradability, but isn't it time we expand the conversation in funeral service?

Let us advance into this next decade of the green and natural burial movement in North America by adding toxicity, sustainability, local-sourcing, and carbon life cycle assessment to the conversation. We're bound to learn something.

Is Cremation a Green Alternative to a Casketed Cemetery Burial?

In the last decade cremation has continued to grow in its appeal to families in America.  The percentage of deaths in the U.S. where families have chosen cremation has grown from less than 4% in 1960 to more than 40% annually.  With growing interest in sustainability, many marketers have touted cremation as a green alternative to a casketed burial in a cemetery.  Let us examine cremation with carbon life cycle assessment and our definition of Green as it applies to death care to also include the political and economic factors in promoting a healthy environment for all living things.

Consider a typical cremation that includes a wooden cremation container and human remains.  Interestingly, a 2011 Netherlands study revealed that cremation with wooden caskets result in less fossil-fuel used during incineration.  The wood serves as a renewable fuel source--thus the more wood used in the cremation container, the less fuel required during incineration.  The fossil-fuel powered cremation process takes 2-3 hours for the stages of warm-up and incineration where temperatures reach 1800 degrees Fahrenheit.  An Australian study determined the combined release of CO2 from burning the fossil fuel, cremation container, and human remains is 350 lbs CO2.  Other sources suggest the carbon impact of incineration is closer to 600 lbs CO2.  The Australian study at 350 lbs CO2 compares favorably to the impact of an imported steel casket at 2000 lbs CO2.  However, cremation is 7 times greater than the impact of a green casket made locally from sustainable materials at 50 lbs CO2.  

The toxicity of cremation is harder to quantify than the carbon impact.  Cremation generates emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, mercury, hydrogen fluoride (HF), hydrogen chloride (HCl), NMVOCs, and other heavy metals, in addition to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP).   For a human body that contains metal implants or dental fillings, the impact of incineration releases harmful dioxins and mercury--there is an ongoing debate on how to address mercury poisoning from cremation which the United States EPA believes is the 3rd largest contributor of air-born mercury contamination.  The United Nations has estimated that 0.2% of the global emission of dioxins and furans are from cremation.  While embalming is not required for direct cremation, circumstances that include a viewing or service prior to cremation often include embalming.  The toxic gases released by cremating an embalmed body are cause for further controversy over the health and environmental impacts of cremation.

One green argument in favor of cremation invokes the social, political, and economic factors of land use.  Studies in Australia and the Netherlands concluded that the carbon impact of cemetery maintenance alone could account for as much as 30 lbs CO2 per grave site every year.  Some believe that a casketed burial in a cemetery occupies precious land space that could serve other useful purposes.  The Netherlands study points out that land competition is a contributing factor for cremation if we consider the land use involved in producing the particleboard, wood, and cotton used in cremation containers.  Add to this the land use required to extract, refine, store, and distribute fossil fuels.  We should also consider that a large contributor to the growing popularity of cremation since the 1960s has to do with the acceptance of cremation by the Catholic Church.  The Catholic Church maintains that cremated remains must be entombed in an appropriate container in a cemetery, mausoleum, or columbarium--all of which occupy land space.  From a full-story perspective on land use by itself, cremation and cemetery burial might be comparable in environmental, political, and economic factors when it comes to promoting a healthy environment for all living things. 

I offer another consideration on the subject land competition when comparing cemetery burials with cremation.  America's cemeteries serve our cities, villages, and towns as green space.  Some cemeteries serve their communities in the same way that a park does by offering a safe and quiet place for a walk or exercise.  Cemeteries provide wildlife habitat for birds, butterflies, and squirrels as well as storm water run-off control.  More recently, America's growing number of conservation cemeteries for natural burials both preserve and protect lands for public enjoyment and for natural wildlife habitat.  Families concerned about land competition may be interested in options for nearby conservation cemeteries where funds raised through the sale of burial plots serve to maintain and protect the land for conservation, wildlife, and recreational purposes.

Every individual should have the liberty to make their own choices when it comes to end-of-life care.  An individual's choice is personal.  What should be important to those of us in the death care industry is that an individual's choice be an informed one.  We fail to serve our families if we are complacent in accepting an individual's decision without understanding the motivation or base values behind that decision.  That is not to say we should question an individual's values, but rather inform with facts so that our families can make informed decisions in accordance with their individual values.  After all, isn't it our duty to inform our families without questioning their values or judging their wishes? 

Could rental caskets be the next trend in green funerals?

Rental caskets with replacement insert and liner are not new to the funeral industry.  Rental caskets first emerged as an option for cremation families to conduct a funeral service prior to cremation.  Fees charged to families for casket rental services generally range from $350 to $1000.  With growing interest in cremation as an alternative to cemetery burial, the rental casket has gained some popularity in the last five years.  As "green" as it may seem, the idea of using a rental casket for a green funeral is not a common option presented to families curious about green or natural burial alternatives.  And yet, the rental casket might just be the perfect choice for families who value the environment but do not wish to make a bold statement with something as different as a natural burial shroud or simple pine box.  

From a sustainability perspective, rental caskets could be a very attractive option for families seeking options to minimize impact on the environment.  Our opportunity in funeral service is to suggest a rental casket to families interested in reducing environmental impact.  There's no reason a funeral service with a rental casket could not be followed by direct burial with a burial shroud in a natural burial cemetery.  For conventional cemeteries that require a burial vault, remains could be interred with a burial shroud or the same type of cardboard box container used in cremations.

It is difficult to write this column without a shameless reference to the pun, "thinking outside the box."  True or not, our funeral service industry has a reputation in the media for being resistant to change and slow to adopt new ideas.  Compounded by the fact that we live in a time in our Western culture where people generally avoid talking about death and death care, it is ever more important that we think outside the box and be prepared to talk about different options with our families as they explore sustainable alternatives in death care.

In preparing to talk to families about green funerals, I offer the following five talking points.  "Green" has many meanings to different people so it helps to hone in on specific perspectives to better understand the values and priorities of your families.  These five talking points include (1) biodegradability, (2) toxicity, (3) sustainability, (4) carbon footprint, and (5) local sourcing.  Each of these talking points has many aspects, facts, and figures and are all interrelated.  There are others, but these five tend to be the most common and are easily understood in the context of death care choices.

If biodegradability is important, as would be the case with a conservation cemetery, then it is important that the casket rental insert that is to be interred be made from biodegradable materials such as cotton and paper whereas synthetics like polyester and sateen be avoided.  Steel staples and toxic adhesives may also need to be avoided for burial in a conservation cemetery like the Penn Forest Natural Burial Park in Verona, PA. 

A funeral service with a handsome locally-made rental casket followed by either cremation or a cemetery burial (with or without vault) complemented with a memorial tree-planting ceremony at someone's home or in a city park could be a relatively green funeral.  A single hardwood memorial tree can offset the carbon impact of the cremation or burial vault after 10-15 years--and if that tree lives on to 80-100 years the tree continues to sequester carbon every day.

For a rental casket that is used over and over again, the biodegradability of the casket is no longer relevant.  The carbon footprint and toxicity of the materials and methods of construction may still be important but certainly less relevant than for a casket that is used once and is interred in the earth.

A family primarily concerned about sustainability from a perspective of conservation of natural resources and limiting the use of non-renewable resources might best be served by a funeral service with a rental casket and cremation complemented with an offset activity to plant a few hundred trees.  The Arbor Day Foundation offers a "Trees in Memory" service (www.arborday.org) that will plant one tree in a national forest for every dollar donated.  We might suggest the family request that all memorial donations go toward planting trees.

The rental casket combined with alternatives with which we are already familiar could be the beginnings of an exemplary "green" funeral service offering for most firms.  Sustainability and being "green" isn't only about the casket, or the cemetery, or embalming.  Try to keep the five talking points close at hand to help uncover the values upon which your families will make choices.  These talking points might invite more questions than provide answers, but these are the conversations upon which we build everlasting trust in personal relationships.  And that's good business.

Green Day - What are People Saying About Sustainability in Death Care?

We were invited to the Isthmus Green Day in Madison, Wisconsin last month to exhibit our sustainable and environmentally friendly caskets.  The Isthmus Green Day is a one-day "sustainability celebration" and expo organized by the Isthmus Newspaper.    What would people think?  Would people be interested in talking about death care at a sustainable living celebration?  What types of questions would we be asked?  We didn't know what to expect but made arrangements for a double-booth to fit four different casket models and four staff.  To our surprise, our caskets were the talk of the show and for more than eight hours starting at 9:00AM that Saturday, the four of us barely had a moment to catch our breath.  An estimated 3000 people attended the expo and we handed out more than 750 brochures.  Here's what people are saying (and asking) about sustainability in death care.

Exhibiting at Green Day, April 2013

Let's talk about cremation.  It isn't often I find myself in a setting where people are openly and genuinely interested in talking about the merits of cremation from an environmental conservation point of view.  After my third conversation, I kept tally marks on a card in my pocket.  By the end of the day just more than 20 individuals or couples had thanked me for speaking with them and affirmed they would be changing their plans from cremation to some type of green or natural burial.  Three key topics emerged in our conversations when comparing cremation and burial in order of interest (1) carbon impact, (2) toxicity and pollution, and (3) land use.  On carbon impact, some people were not at all surprised after considering for a moment the carbon impact of a cremation--a fossil-fueled fire reaching 1800 degrees F for 2-3 hours--ranges from 300 to 600 lbs of CO2.  Compared to the carbon footprint of a conventional steel casket at roughly 2000 lbs of CO2, cremation is a better choice.  However, compared to a sustainable "green" casket at 50 to 150 lbs. of CO2, the environmentally friendly casket is clearly a better choice.  While carbon impact was of significance to most of our audience, some were most moved by thoughts of toxic pollution.  Depending on the study you trust, cremation accounts for 10% to 30% of global Mercury contamination of our environment.  People who care about pollution very quickly agreed to reconsider a natural burial.  A select few individuals were primarily considering land use in their funeral plans based on previous awareness of new conservation cemeteries opening up on the area including Natural Path Sanctuary in Verona, WI.

Let's talk about caskets.  We had four caskets illustrating a range of materials, pricing, and finishes.  To our surprise, the simple, rectangular and boxy "Simple Pine Box" stole the show!  Our experience with Green Day attendees is consistent with our funeral home partners.  While living people choose a simple pine box for themselves, they will not choose the same simple pine box for a loved one who did not previously express their wishes for a simple casket.  There was some curious interest in our Orthodox caskets that contain no metal nails, screws, or hinges, but most attendees had no issue being buried with a handful of fasteners and some metal hinges.  We learned that toxicity and our choices in wood finishes were very important for this audience.  Caskets with finishes free of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) were preferred over those with even low VOCs.  As for interiors, our audience expressed interest in biodegradable natural fiber interiors.  People genuinely recognized that while they could easily imagine selecting a very simple interior for themselves, many recalled a recent funeral experience where they would have had difficulty making the same decision for a loved one.

Let's talk about funeral homes.  There was no confusion whatsoever when people asked about price and we explained prices were set by funeral homes and that we distributed our caskets through funeral homes exclusively.  It was not a leap to recognize us as a casket manufacturer and not a casket retailer--not unlike the Toyota exhibit 15 feet from ours.  We offered ballpark price ranges that funeral homes might charge and that satisfied their questions when comparing the different models.  We shared contact information and literature for our funeral home partners in the Madison area.  We also found it encouraging the number of people who had already made or were making their funeral arrangements in advance.  It seems clear to me that for individuals who care about the environment, they do not want to leave their funeral choices up to their survivors--advance planning was a priority.  Several individuals commented how they wished their funeral director had more information on sustainability, environmental impact, and toxicity of their choices including cremation, embalming, concrete vaults, and casket options.

Overall, I would say our participation in Green Day was a success and full of pleasant surprises.  People are genuinely interested in talking about sustainability in death care at an event like this.  I would encourage others vendors in the death care industry to seize the opportunity to participate in local "sustainable living" events.  People were more interested than even I would have expected before attending Isthmus Green Day.

The Conversational Undertaker

Finding the meaning of "green" in green funeral inquiries

I've heard this story many times in the last few years as relayed to me by funeral directors.  A couple arrives to make funeral arrangements for an elderly family member in the final days of life or immediately after death.  Early in the conversation, a member of the family says something like, "Dad wants one of those Green Funerals... you know, like we heard on Public Radio."

As professionals in the death care industry, hearing a family ask about a Green Funeral is a good conversation starter.  In the whirlwind of news, sensational articles, books, television shows and Hollywood productions in the last several years, many people are interested enough to ask about a Green Funeral.  However, not every family knows fully what "green" can mean regarding a funeral.  The family's request could be motivated by any of several factors and warrants further conversation to understand the family's wishes.  The better we understand the reason for the family wanting to know more about green funeral options, the better we can serve them.

Often times the key motivator for inquiring about a green funeral is cost.  Many funeral directors have shared with me the family's directive, "Dad just wanted a simple pine box.  Simple and plain, nothing fancy."  Directives like this are sometimes a bit hostile and motivated by Mitford's writings on American funerals.   We've learned that after presenting an inexpensive "simple pine box" like our Phillips Simple Pine Casket, many families shy away from this option unless the deceased had made explicit arrangements beforehand with the funeral home or a family member.  In this early stage of grief, many families are not prepared to make as bold a statement as might be perceived by the family and community with just a plain pine box.  For this family, we can show a more conventional-looking wooden casket like our Pine Panel Casket that appeals to the family that is both price-conscious and eco-conscious.  Additionally, we can address their concerns for cost in other ways--planning a funeral to meet a budget is not new to the death care industry.  The lesson learned here is that there are a few families who will ask for a Green Funeral when they mean to be more informed about ways to manage cost.

For some families the foremost concern when inquiring about a green funeral is the environment.  Unlike the cost-conscious, this family is primarily concerned with minimizing the impact on the environment.  Until recently, the only perceived alternative to a conventional funeral has been cremation.  We now have alternatives to cremation that convert many families to a full service green funeral that may be much more appealing to the eco-conscious.  A good indicator that a family has already done their homework on green funerals is their openness and willingness to discuss detailed matters such as the cemetery, burial vaults, biodegradable

Handcrafted Pine Casket by Northwoods Casket Co.

caskets, and embalming alternatives.  Cost is typically not an issue when it comes to paying a premium for a burial site in a natural burial cemetery, a hand-crafted wooden casket, and the added cost for refrigerated storage and/or dry ice in lieu of embalming.  For the family most interested in avoiding environmental impact, it may be appealing to complement the funeral services with a memorial tree-planting or a donation to an organization that will plant trees as an off-set for the impact of the funeral.

For other families, the main concern when considering a green funeral is more personal.  A family that is well-informed about natural burial may seek a funeral that inters the remains of the deceased in a manner that does not prohibit decomposition and allows the body to return to the earth.  For some, this is a spiritual matter and they want to be in direct contact with the soil in order to return to the earth more naturally.  Depending on the cemetery requirements, there may be options to fore-go the concrete vault altogether or use a grave liner.  The family may ask about biodegradable caskets that do not contain precious metals or chemical finishes.  For these families it is important to recognize that "biodegradable" and "low environmental impact" are not the same.  (Recall from a previous installment of this column that a biodegradable natural burial casket shipped from Indonesia via ocean cargo and air-freighted across the US would have more than twice the environmental impact when measured with carbon life cycle analysis than a steel casket assembled in the US.)

We all have much to learn as the death care industry changes.  The more families are willing to get involved, make advanced arrangements, and ask questions about death care, the more opportunity we have as death care professionals to make a lasting impression.  For many of us, it is that lasting impression, and the loyalty earned with it, that keeps us engaged in our profession.  When we are prepared to talk about Green Funerals with those families that inquire about them, we can better serve their interests, varied as they may be.

Green Funerals are for the Living

A Simple Pine Box by the Northwoods Casket Co.

Dead people don't have choices.  They're dead.  Living people understand that dead people don't have feelings, don't care about money, have no interest in being comfortable, and do not care about the weather.  These are concerns for living people.  And yet, when living people make funeral decisions for the deceased many of these elements come to the forefront in the decision making process.

As death care professionals, we've seen it all.  While there are those moments we witness something we've never seen before, we are intimately familiar with the grieving family and their difficulty in making funeral choices.  Is this the casket Mom would have wanted?  Are these flowers too much, or not enough?  What will the rest of the family and her friends think?  Yeah, Dad wanted a cheap pine box, but is this too cheap? Will Grandma be comfortable?  We just cannot stand the thought of Grandpa's casket being submerged in water--maybe we better get the sealed concrete burial vault with a 5-year warranty.

When it comes to making smart choices in death care, we've noticed that living people make decisions very differently for themselves than they do for the deceased.  At the Northwoods Casket Co. we can attest that our funeral home partners sell very few Simple Pine Boxes to a family in an at-need funeral situation; yet in the same time our partners have sold more than 200 Simple Pine Boxes to living people making choices for their own funerals.  What does this mean?

Our industry is on the verge of change.  The decade beginning 2010 is one of significant social, economical, and political change.  The population itself is changing--aging baby-boomers are reaching their final stages of life, GenX-ers are becoming late parents or early grandparents, and a new generation raised on social media is entering the working class.  The "green" marketing fad is maturing into a movement built on an imperative for Environmental Sustainability.  Attitudes toward the environment, the economy, and entitlements are changing.  Today, there are volumes of information (and mis-information) available through multiple channels of media for the voter, consumer, or otherwise individual searching for an answer or the confidence to make an informed choice.

In death care, we see casketed burials shrinking by 2% annually despite a growing death rate giving way to cremation--the only alternative to a casketed cemetery burial in the last several decades.  At the same time, we see exponential growth in openings of new green cemeteries, and new "green" areas of existing municipal and private cemeteries.  In its third year of offering natural burial, River View Cemetery shares that nearly one-quarter of all burials at their cemetery in Portland, Oregon were natural burials in 2012.  There are more local casket builders today than there have been since the First World War.

Living people make choices, and the living people are choosing local and sustainable alternatives to Big Business.  This is as true in food with the rapidly growing population of local community supported agriculture producers (CSAs) as well as with the trend toward local breweries and distilleries (the ATF has awarded more distillery licenses in the last 5 years than in all the years since prohibition).  These are just two examples of many trends toward local, sustainable, and environmentally friendly practices that transcend ethnic, class, and geographic divides in our population.

Here's the rub for us death care professionals.  There's a growing trend in death care not unlike those in the food and beverage industry.  There have been more green funerals in the last 5 years than in the previous two decades.  There are hundreds of funeral homes, churches, and volunteer groups organizing in America to offer assistance with green funerals.  At the Northwoods Casket Co. we answer more than a dozen callers each week asking for help with local ordinances and state laws, casket & vault requirements, and the many other questions best answered by a licensed funeral director.  We refer every caller to their local funeral director.

As death care professionals, the opportunity is ours to embrace changing attitudes and reestablish ourselves as local partners committed to both environmental sustainability and helping our families make informed choices in death care.  We already recognize that funerals, like choices, are for the living.  The death care industry may shrink [in dollars] in the coming decade despite the long over-anticipated 25% growth in the death rate by baby-boomers, but as with all change those of us who embrace change will persevere.

Environmental Attitudes

Do environmental attitudes in death care affect end-of-life choices?

A guest on Wisconsin Public Radio recently caught my attention talking about attitudes and the environment.  Thomas Heberlein, a professor of community and environmental sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, has spent the last 40 years studying the affects of attitudes on people's actions when it comes to environmental issues.  Inspired by the talk, I checked out Heberlein's book "Navigating Environmental Attitudes" with consideration for people's choices in death care regarding environmental issues.  The premise of navigating attitudes compares marketing and messaging regarding environmental attitudes to rafting a river.  We don't set out on a river rafting trip with tons of dynamite so that we can move boulders and alter the riverscape.  Like boulders among the rapids, attitudes are difficult to move and it is far easier (and less expensive) to understand and navigate attitudes than it is to alter them. 

amazon.com

Heberlein goes into great academic detail on the characteristics of attitude and how to measure attitudes of a population.  Interestingly, while attitudes are a real and observable influence in behavior, an attitude cannot be held, it has no mass, color, temperature, or other characteristics we generally associate with scientific measurement.  Generally speaking, however, an attitude can be observed when an individual likes/dislikes an object or agrees/disagrees with an idea.  When observing attitudes, there is always an object.  That object can be an idea (environmental conservation), movement (racial equality), or a physical thing (bees).

Like environmental attitudes, death care attitudes can be observed as having both cognitive as well as emotional characteristics.  The cognitive aspect of public attitude can be influenced with information (facts or purported facts) logic, and reason.   The emotional aspect of public attitude is influenced by individual experience and is harder to change.  Public attitudes can also be modeled both horizontally and vertically.  The horizontal dimension represents the number of cognitive supporting elements of an attitude.  The wider the horizontal axis (i.e. more supporting elements) the more stable the attitude is.  The vertical dimension represents the emotional experience and core values from which the cognitive assessment is derived.  Supporting elements of attitude deeply rooted in an individual's core values and personal experience are difficult to change.  Let us use this model to observe environmental attitudes and cremation.

[I preface this model with the disclaimer that these are not my personal opinions (or my personal attitude) but observations from reading countless articles on the topic and in speaking with 100s of death care professionals and families.]  To illustrate on the horizontal axis, let's review four elements of public attitude (there are others) for choosing cremation as an alternative to a cemetery burial.  Cremation is less expensive.  Cremation does not occupy valuable land space.  Cremation does not require embalming, casket, or a cemetery monument.  Cremation was the choice of someone close to me [spouse, parent, grand-parent, etc.].  Each of these four elements is supported by an individual's values and experience.

In this example, we observe that this individual values money and has information or experience leading to the conclusion that cremation is less costly than a cemetery burial.  This person values environmental conservation and land use.  From the statement about embalming we might observe that this person has an emotional experience regarding embalming and also wishes to avoid unnecessary spending on a casket and monument.  Lastly, the emotional connection to other members of family is a key factor in attitude.  People find comfort following their family when it comes to making end-of-life choices.

We can assess that this individual's attitude, based on four cognitive elements each deeply rooted in both information (cognitive) and experience (emotion), is fairly stable.  Moving just one of these elements (i.e. if cremation was suddenly more expensive) is not likely to change this individual's attitude.  On the other hand, people's attitudes generally shift and change over time.  This can be observed with maturity as values change over the course of a lifetime.  In this example, an individual may discover a conservation cemetery that actually preserves land for environmental conservation and learn that a direct burial can be achieved without use of embalming, casket, or monument.  This might be enough new information to change one individual's attitude toward cremation.  Yet another individual, even with 3 of the 4 horizontal elements of attitude removed, may have a deeply rooted value (i.e. being cremated and interred next to a spouse) that upholds the individual's attitude toward cremation as an end-of-life choice. 

It might seem as though navigating attitudes in death care is a hopeless exercise that will have us running in circles.  We must recognize that two individuals with seemingly similar life experiences based on the same information and core values can have opposing attitudes on the same subject.  Take for example attitudes on a contemporary environmental topic such as proposed legislation banning chemicals found to kill bees.  Take notice that two individuals sitting in a barber shop in your local community can read the same newspaper article, share similar core values, and even vote the same politically, but have opposing attitudes on bees.  We see the same in death care on a number of detailed subjects including embalming, metal vs. wood caskets, how comfortable a casket interior looks & feels, land use and cemeteries, etc.

I try to bring each of these columns to a close with a call to action.  I offer this shallow glimpse into the well-established science of sociology and environmental attitudes to help us better understand our families' choices in end-of-life care.  First, we must recognize that attitudes change slowly.  During pre-planning we have time to ask questions to better understand the core values of an individual planning a funeral and offer new information and alternatives that may lead an individual to better decisions--decisions more in line with their core values.  But even after offering what might be entirely new information, it takes time for the cognitive process to influence a change in attitude.  This might happen over a few days, months, or even years but it certainly won't happen during that one hour session. 

Second, by listening to our families and observing their core values, we not only put ourselves in a better position to provide a valued service, we build trust with our families.  Human psychology (and sales training) tell us that good listening and comprehension skills achieve a mutual understanding of an individual's values and lead to trust in lasting personal relationships.  People very much like to be understood.  As for offering information, transparency is key.  Separate your personal attitudes from factual information.  It is helpful to offer a recommendation based on your own attitude, but be forthcoming that your recommendation is based on your own personal experience and core values.  For example, "I value the environment as did my Mother, so when we buried her we decided to..." is an honest statement that discloses both your values and your own experience.  Offering factual information comes more naturally, "The nearest conservation cemetery is 200 miles away.  The plot and mileage expense would amount to about $xxxx.  However, this rural cemetery just 6 miles outside of the city allows direct burial in a simple wooden casket without a burial vault and would save the time, expense, and environmental impact of the mileage."  Even at the difficult time of need, offering both the richness of your experience and depth of your knowledge can help a family feel better about their choices--and build ever-lasting trust in personal relationships.  This is was separates the practitioners from the professionals.

Greening America's Cemeteries

This column originally appeared in the February, 2013 issue of Funeral Home and Cemetery News by Nomis Publications, Inc.

Cemeteries respond to interest in natural burial.

Green Burial entered the American vernacular in 1998 with the opening of Ramsey Creek Preserve near Greenville, South Carolina.  In the 15 years since there has been much discussion regarding death care in America and green alternatives to conventional burial.  News articles tend to follow a formula with a cliche headline on death and burial.  Articles often include a quote from Joe Sehee, founder of the Green Burial Council (created in 2005) or James Olson, spokesman on green burial for the NFDA.  Most cite statistics on the volumes of hardwoods, steel, and concrete buried each year in America's cemeteries.  Many will mention Jessica Mitford's American Way of Death or a quote from the more contemporary and journalistic views in Grave Matters by Mark Harris.  Almost every story cites survey statistics to demonstrate growing public interest in green burial including the 2007 AARP poll indicating 21% of respondents were curious about or considering green burial and the 2008 Kates-Boylston survey finding 43% of respondents would consider a green burial.

A great many news stories on green burial originate from local TV and newspaper media announcing a green cemetery or a green burial at a local cemetery.  Many dozens of existing municipal, religious, and private cemeteries have opened new sections of property dedicated to varying "shades of green" burial services.  There is also the growing number of newly opened green cemeteries entirely committed to green burial such as Greenhaven Preserve near Columbia, South Carolina.

The Green Burial Council (GBC) characterizes three tiers of cemeteries in its green burial standard for cemeteries: Hybrid, Natural, and Conservation.  A Hybrid rating might include an existing traditional cemetery that would allow a burial without a vault or grave liner in any type of casket or burial shroud.  Riverview Cemetery established 1882 in Portland, Oregon is one such Hybrid cemetery allowing green interments in nearly every area of the cemetery.  While the GBC lists 20 such Hybrid cemeteries in North America and Canada on its web site, there are countless municipal cemeteries located in both rural and urban settings across America that have no strict requirements on the use of a burial vaults or caskets.  For most Americans, this "lighter shade of green" burial sans vault and with an eco-friendly casket is available nearby.

A Natural Burial Ground takes it up a notch in defining non-toxic practices to protect the environment.  The GBC uses several criteria including the cemetery's policies on burial vaults, caskets or shrouds, embalming, use of chemicals in lawn care, grave opening/closing techniques, and land status.  Land status must also guarantee adherence to green practices through deed restriction, conservation easement, or other irrevocable legally binding agreement in perpetuity.  The GBC lists a dozen cemeteries at this level.  At the highest standard, Conservation burial grounds are those that demonstrate a legally binding responsibility for perpetual stewardship of the land and are adjacent to land of ecological significance such as a park, wildlife corridor or critical habitat area.  There are four such cemeteries in the U.S. that have achieved the Conservation burial ground level as defined by the GBC including Honey Creek Woodlands (Conyers, GA), Foxfield Preserve (Wilmot, OH), Ramsey Creek Preserve (Westminster, SC), and White Eagle Memorial Preserve (Goldendale, WA).

The Green Burial Council has contributed much to an international conversation on green and natural burial by defining standards. But there are far more practitioners than there are certifications when it comes to greening America's cemeteries.  Inquiries for a "back to nature" burial are growing ever more common among America's cemeteries.   Graham Garner, warden/manager of the 17 acre West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Friends South Western Burial Ground established in 1861, tells us that while they have not actively promoted green burials, they have had five such burial requests already--a significant number because sometimes a year will go by with no burials.  This cemetery, home to roughly 4000 grave sites, is the final resting place for Quakers (and others) seeking a simple "environmentally aware" burial.  Two families used simple wooden caskets, and three used cloth burial shrouds.  Graham explains they do not have vault or casket requirements, but they do have some restrictions on headstones.

A very new burial ground by contrast is the Natural Path Sanctuary that opened June, 2011 in Verona, Wisconsin.  Kevin Corrado, coordinator for the sanctuary, explains that while they prefer shrouded burials they will accept caskets made from "unfinished non-precious woods" and free of non-biodegradable materials.  Conventional practices including burial vaults, embalming, and grave markers are not allowed. All graves in the wooded sanctuary are dug and closed by hand.

In 2012, the Catholic Sentinel reported that Mount Calvary in Portland, Oregon became the second Catholic cemetery in the nation to offer a dedicated area of the cemetery for green burial.  Tim Corbett, superintendent of Catholic cemeteries for the Archdiocese of Portland, explains that he first started hearing about green burial six years ago.  He views this movement as a way for people to leave a natural legacy adding that if everyone opted for a green burial, he'd have 500 acres of endowed forest.  The St. Francis green burial section of the cemetery has space for 120 graves and will re-forest the area as interments are made.

The Green Burial Council and the Centre for Natural Burial each list more than 30 green burial sites in the U.S.  If we include all private, municipal, and church operated cemeteries offering green burial options there may already be more than 200 cemeteries in America where people can opt for a green burial.  Trend or fad, I'm optimistic that awareness on green burial continues to spread throughout America, more options are becoming available, and that our industry is changing for the better when it comes to protecting our natural habitat.