End of Life and Funeral Planning

Recent articles on green funerals

Earth Day usually inspires reporters to take another look at the green funeral movement. This year was no exception. Here are a few notable articles:

• The DIY Funeral:  "Today’s idea: A do-it-yourself home funeral can be cheaper, greener, creepy and a bureaucratic hassle — and, some say, a more meaningful ritual for the living."
• Grassroots effort encourages green burials
  
• 'Green' burials are the latest option
  
• American rethink death care
• Green funerals taking hold

Thinking about going green? View our selection of eco-friendly, green cremation urns.

Green funerals gaining ground

While not all communities are ready to embrace the idea of green funerals, public awareness of the option is growing:

• Searching for a simpler burial
• Going Green
• Artist all wrapped up in shrouds for burials

Here today, green tomorrow: Eco-friendly cremation urns

A growing number of consumers are making  environmentally friendly products part of their daily lives. But why stop there? A new  line of eco-friendly cremation urns from Richard Lamb New Traditions helps consumers stay green to the very end, with minimal impact on the environment. 

The urns, available at Richardlamb.com, are handcrafted in the United States from  responsibly produced materials such as sustainable bamboo and at least 50% recycled  steel. As a result, the green urns have less environmental impact after burial. If families choose  to keep the urn as a green in-home memorial, however, they can customize any model  with a commemorative paraffin oil lamp or solid bamboo lid.

“Many of the families we work with are environmentally conscious about the products they  buy on a daily basis,” says Richard Lamb, the memorial merchandising Web site’s founder and 40-year veteran of the funeral industry. “When they realize that the cremation urns they choose are likely to have a lasting effect on the environment, as well, they ask for greener options.”

Green urns on Flickr

We've posted a photostream of some of our eco-friendly urns to Flickr. We will be posting additional photos soon.

View the photostream

Heartland Cornstarch Urns, a New Eco-Friendly Option

With more families opting to make green choices, we are constantly on the lookout for eco-friendly memorial and cremation urn options. We have found an urn in a classic design, painted by hand, and crafted from corn starch. These remarkable Heartland Constarch Eco-Urns remain intact above ground, and can be used for home or columbarium display, but they will degrade naturally when buried in the earth. We offer these urns in five design motifs. For a limited time, they are $5 off with free shipping.

• Heartland Cornstarch Eco-Urns
• More of our earth-friendly cremation urns

Green urns for people and their pets

Recent media coverage of our ecologically sound memorials:

• This Old House story on green products for pets, including our eco-friendly pet caskets
• AOL Green Daily on eco-friendly cremation urns and cremation as a greener option

Green cemeteries gaining ground in the U.S.

Green cemeteries, which resemble forest preserves more than cemeteries, are beginning to appear in the U.S. Read the recent Chicago Tribune article on the subject:

Cemeteries going green

Green Funeral Planning

Sound environmental practices are becoming a way of life for many, and the idea of green funerals is slowly gaining popularity in the United States. While green cemeteries are still rare, there are ways for consumers to have meaningful memorials that use fewer resources than traditional burials. View our Green Funeral Planning category for the latest on the subject.

Related:

• Eco-friendly cremation urns
• Moving on from life, naturally (USA Today)
• Green funerals feature biodegradable coffins (CNN)
• Eco-friendly pet caskets