Green cremation is becoming a popular trend, but for who? Most funeral homes and cremation service providers are old fashion in nature. In fact, most firms want to push green products and services, but they don't know how to. You heard that right!
Today, there are more green products available to individuals choosing cremation and burial services. The problem, they generally come at a larger cost to the businesses offering them. In turn, the client making the purchase ends up paying higher cost too. In a good economy both consumers and businesses thrive. The challenge is getting the older generation of funeral directors and funeral home owners to change their old ways to find a balance with new trends.
Why are green products more expensive? Perhaps it's because the demand vs. the supply is not yet balanced. However, one fact remains, "together, we can make a difference in the environment". But, are we also being sold an ideology? The answer is yes. It's just going to continue to take more time in the funeral business to really get traction. Again, we are talking about the oldest tradition in the world, funerals. As the generations of the past continue with traditional funeral services or traditional cremation, we must wade it out. The coming generation is harnessing new Green ideas and services. This will mean less embalming chemicals, less emissions and more eco-friendly solutions regarding death and how we honor our loved ones. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
You may ask, "why would simpler services or basic biodegradable merchandise cost more"? This is a question we must all ask. As a funeral director that supports the green movement, there are many challenges relating to the cost factor. Most individuals would not know that these products cost the firm more money and even in a good economy consumers don't want to spend more money than necessary, even during a loss. Naturally a businesses expenses get forwarded to the consumer, funeral services is no exception.
So, is the "Green" movement sustainable? Lets take a look at some simple information: There are very few true green cemetery locations in each state. In most cases, they are many miles away and the majority of consumers just do not travel for funeral services like they used to. Another challenge is that Green is Green. There is no compromising or flexibility when it comes to the idea, especially with a planned Green burial. One can not have a traditional funeral with a green burial (if a metal or even most wood caskets are used with standard embalming). This is just a simple example that the ideology regulates. No harsh chemicals permitted. Even though there are some good chemical free embalming solutions, most families will refuse to put mom in a picnic basket type casket (sorry mom, but I love you and you deserve what dad had). On a serious note, people tend to have problems with change. Again, it will take time. Maybe another generation before it becomes a standard......who knows.
Green cremation is gaining momentum, yet that too faces similar challenges. For instance, a standard retort (cremator machine about 4-5 cremations a day) can cost about $125k and go up from there. A flameless (green cremator - more on this type of cremation in another blog) generally has a starting price point at around $250k per unit and cremates at a much slower rate (about 1 every 6 - 8 hours). This takes more time, cost more in man power hours and is not sustainable for high volume requirements in cities or busy funeral or cremation firms. Some firms are offering both of these services and generally charge more for "Green Cremation". The benefits of Green Cremation for funeral homes / crematory businesses is that they are it is pretty much flawless when it comes to utility usage and virtually zero emissions. Another benefit is maintenance costs. Green machines are much less costly to maintain opposed to standard crematory retorts.
Progress with Green cremation is definitely moving in the right direction with many states now permitting it and approving its' use to dispose of the human remains. Companies like Cremation Services By The Sea are eager to offer these services to the community. The balance of change is coming, even if it is slow growing.
The ideal way to get more funeral homes and crematory businesses to invest in Green cremation is to bring down the costs of the machines and make them more efficient with higher volume abilities. These are the shackles that imprison the minds of the most funeral homes and funeral directors that understand the business, but also need to have services that are time effective for everyone involved.