Some people wish to be buried. Others choose cremation, then either burial or scattering at a favorite place. For a pilot, an aerial ceremony might be just the thing. Flying Magazine has safety tips for conducting an ash scattering ceremony in the sky.
Eco-friendly funerals, biodegradable caskets all the rage
A brief overview of green funeral and cremation practices.
As a funeral service (or veterinary) professional, you want to offer your clients a wide variety of choices in care. You offer numerous service options, and work hard to maintain a good selection of memorial products. As you know, keeping up inventory and managing relationships with multiple suppliers takes time - time you would rather be spending with the families you serve. It may be no surprise that some providers are now outsourcing this function. One way to offer your clients a wider range of choices is through partnerships or affiliate relationships (such as our affiliate program). Terms vary widely, as do services and options, so be sure to research your potential partners carefully. Questions to ask:
There are hundreds of companies making cremation urns these days. Some still make their urns in the United States, though many now turn to overseas labor. One company still relying on American craftmanship is Treasure Line, which has been making hardwood urns by hand in the Pacific Northwest for more than 20 years. What makes their urns different is the 3-D reliefs their artists create using a variety of woods. Plus, they offer them in a number of themes, including golf, motorcycling, the outdoors, and even cats. The also craft traditional hardwood urns in classic designs, and have some beautiful urns featuring Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Good Shepherd. We are pleased to make these urns available to the families we serve.
Consumers are seeking new ways to minimize their impact on the environment. Choosing an earth-friendly cremation urn is one way to do that. Recently, we began offering a new set of environmentally friendly cremation urns and pet caskets. They are made of handcrafted paper and recycled materials. The makers harvest the bark of the mulberry tree for the paper. The bark grows back, and the tree lives on. Some of the urns are designed to dissolve in water after a few minutes; all will degrade completely after burial in soil.
December savings code: blogdec06 for 10% off any online purchase at richardlamb.com. Free shipping, as always, is included.
The problems created by obesity don't end with death. While alive, the morbidly obese must deal with furniture, airline seats, and clothing that is not quite designed for their weight or proportions. After death, their remains create new challenges for funeral directors and crematories.
To accomodate significantly obese individuals, casket manufacturers have created new product lines of generous proportions. Families of morbidly obese individuals now have a greater range of casket choices, although the costs of these caskets are expected to be higher than those of regular models.
Crematories are also adapting to this growing segment of the market. Some larger individuals are simply too large to be cremated safely in standard crematories. Manufacturers of crematoria are developing models to accomodate a broader range of sizes, but it will take time for the cremation industry to make the upgrades. The problem is especially acute in the UK, where only a few crematories can handle larger remains, according to the Observer.
As cremation has become more common, new options for housing and displaying cremated remains have become available. Memorial, or cremation, jewelry is among the most popular. Each piece resembles ordinary jewelry, and is made of the same materials - gold, silver, or other metals. The difference is that cremation jewelry pieces include hollow chambers designed to hold small portions of cremated remains or other memorial items. The jewelry is a way of keeping a loved one's remains close in a very literal sense.
We have made cremation jewelry available to the families we serve for several years. Readers of this blog are invited to purchase jewelry, or any other item we offer online, at a special discount. Just visit our site, make your selection, and be sure to add the discount code - blogjuly06 - during the checkout process.
Guest Editor: Stephen Lamb
A backgrounder on cremation from the Wikipedia
Cremation and secular cemeteries: Funeral practices in Israel are changing
Advice on funeral planning from the Federal Trade Commission
Wondering if you selected an ethical funeral services provider? The FCA has a checklist for that.
An option you may not have considered: The home funeral
Guest editor: Stephen Lamb
Not so long ago, consumers did not shop around when making funeral plans. When the time came, they went to the funeral director their families had always used. Shopping for a better (or fairer) price was not done. Without the pressure of meaningful competition, prices were not kept in check.
Most consumers still do not shop around when making, or contemplating, funeral plans. But, two developments have given families greater control over the funeral planning process. First, the federal government ruled that funeral homes must allow consumers to use caskets they had purchased outside of the funeral home. The traditional funeral home monopoly on caskets was weakened significantly by this change. Second, the Internet arose as an easy means of comparing funeral homes, caskets, and cremation urns, and of making merchandise purchases from the best possible provider.
Although funeral homes have had to make their general price lists available to the public for some time, the growth of the Internet as a shopping tool has placed increased pressure on funeral homes to release detailed pricing and service information. Many are uncomfortable with the degree of transparency many consumers have come to expect. Shopping search engines such as Froogle allow users to compare prices from dozens of sites with a single search. Opinion and feedback sites give consumers the chance to post details about their experiences with funeral service providers.
These new tools give consumers unprecedented power in the funeral planning relationship, but adoption has been slow. Consumers are willing to spend hours finding better wireless plans, but they are often less selective in choosing caskets and urns. Once consumers become aware of these tools in a funeral planning context, the traditional funeral homes, many of which are now owned by global corporations, will feel the pressure to change. Expect fairer pricing and more funeral planning options, which is exactly what small, family-owned funeral service providers have been giving consumers all along.
Guest Editor: Stephen Lamb
Flying has become an unpleasant necessity for most people. Passengers are treated to numerous indignities, beginning with the security screening line. On a normal travel day, a passenger might bristle at the idea of walking barefoot across a filthy airport floor previously trodden by thousands of one's fellow travellers. On a normal day, the rules of the TSA may cause irritation and delay, but most travellers are willing to accept the current situation.
But what if you had just returned from a memorial ceremony and were carrying the cremated remains of a loved one? Your security situation has just become more complex. It happens more often than you might think.
The TSA requires that all urns brought on aircraft as carry-on luggage be made of a material that can be penetrated by x-rays. Many urns are made of, or contain, metal. When that is the case, the urn must be transported as checked luggage. Under no circumstances may a TSA agent open the urn.
The best way to prevent an unexpected situation at the screening line is to make sure your funeral home or crematory knows you will be flying with the cremated remains. Wood, plastic, and fabric urns and temporary containers are available for this purpose. Your funeral home can also ship the remains for you, but many family members are understandably reluctant to choose this option.
