Yes You Can! have a Low Cost Funeral with a Green Burial. This article comes from 2001 the year I entered Mortuary School. The main point of the article a low cost funeral and green burial can just as easily be done now as it was then. I found Mr. Matson’s book to be meaningful reading in Mortuary School.
“Guess what? You’re going to die. Not today (with luck), not tomorrow (you hope), but some day. The Grim Reaper waits. Sure, you already knew that, and you try not to think about it. But before you flip the page, let me tell you the problem with death denial (those undertakers who happily profit on death fears can stop reading now). Ignorance may be bliss when it comes to mortality, but it’s going to cost you. Funerals are often more expensive than we expect, but learning about how much the average funeral costs and how to plan a low-cost funeral can really help save you money. If you have a green funeral, it can be relatively inexpensive, as well as better for the Earth.”
Sadly however overall I have found the funeral industry unreceptive to green burials and the Lower Cost Funeral. I still dream however of the day they will be commonplace. Many however are working to make this dream a reality.
Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral blog by Your Funeral Guy.
Two Greenville Michigan companies sharing the same building, are bringing lower cost “Plastic Caskets” to America starting in June. Clarion Technologies is making the Caskets and Commerative Caskets USA will be bringing the Plastic Casket to America.
These caskets look like real and metal caskets but they are made of plastic and will cost 30 to 40% less than the wood, and metal ones. This will help American Funeral Consumers come in under the average cost of a funeral.
“W. Craig Dolby, vice president of marketing and sales at Commemorative Caskets, said metal, wood and granite currently make up most of the casket market.
The Commemorative Casket USA line was unveiled for the first time March 10-12 at the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association Convention in San Antonio. Dolby said many funeral home directors were intrigued by the plastic caskets, featuring top-of-the-line graphics that imitate the look of real wood, colorful granite, paint or even camouflage.
“Basically, all the caskets (at the funeral show) looked the same,” Dolby said. “Baby boomers are coming along, and they want choices.”
The graphics for Commemorative Caskets are made and applied with the same techniques used to make fake wood paneling in automobiles.
Dolby and Brownlow have spent the last year researching the market they intend to reach with their caskets. They already have some orders for their products.” via www.detnews.com
Funeral Industry|Funeral News| Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy
April 9th, 2010 is the deadline to file a claim in the Burr oak Cemetery Scandal. This scandal was exposed in July 2009. Over 300 Graves were desecrated and preneed funds (the money people paid for funerals) were stolen.
2009 Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal
“A deadline is approaching for families affected by the Burr Oak grave desecration scandal.
The desecration of hundreds of plots at the Alsip graveyard made national headlines last summer
Relatives of loved ones buried there now have until April 9, 2010 to file claims against the Alsip Cemetery.
Burr Oak Cemetery was shut down for several months after the discovery of a grisly scheme.
Four former cemetery workers are charged with digging up and re-selling graves.
The United States Congress is considering national cemetery reform in response to this scandal. The Legislation is called the Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act of 2009(HR 3655).
Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy.
Congressman Bobby Rush(D-IL) will be a Speaker at the The Funeral Consumers Alliance 2010 Conference. Congressman Rush is the sponsor of the Bereaved Consumers Bill of RightsActof 2009-Funeral and Cemetery and Reform Legislation written in response to the tragic Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal.of July 2009. The conference is scheduled for June 2010.
Congressman Bobby Rush
Early in March 2010, Congressman Rush spoke at the NFDA Advocacy Summit a meeting of Funeral Industry Lobbyists in Washington DC. Interestingly, both the Funeral Consumers Alliance and the National Funeral Directors Association support the Funeral and Cemetery Reform legislation, which will set up a second “Death Care” Industry Rule regulating Cemeteries and Third parties that sell Funeral Goods and Services to the public. Click HERE For Details of the this legisation
These organizations, FCA and NFDA are traditionally opposed to one another.
The Funeral Consumers Alliance(FCA) is the premier Funeral Industry Consumer watchdog group. The National Funeral Directors Association,NFDA is the primary Organization For Funeral Directors in the USA.
Funeral Industry|Funeral News| Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy, Funeral Director Illinois and Virginia.
Your Funeral Guy i supports the Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act.
Disclaimer- Your Funeral Guy is formerly a member of both the NFDA and the FCA but has no current affiliation with either organization.
Congressman Rush has displayed great courage in being the main sponsor of this legislation.
The Neptune Society has begun a National Advertising Campaign in USA Today. Clearly the independent cremation giant is trying to cash in on skyrocketing rise in cremation across the United States. This advertising may also attract the growing number of Funeral Consumers who want to pay less for Funeral Goods and Services.
“Just what kind of dead guy will you be—the afterlife version of a Hummer, resting under a giant marble monument to your fabulousness, or an eco-friendly pile of ashes that can easily fit into an old flower vase? If you’re interested in the latter, the Neptune Society would like a word. For the first time ever, the country’s largest independent cremation company has launched an ad campaign in USA Today with the tagline: “Think outside the wooden box!”via www.brandfreak.com
The ad will be running once a month for the rest of 2010 in USA Today.
The Neptune Society was fined last year by the State of Colorado for violating laws in Funeral Sales. They do have a history of such matters so don’t fall for their pitch “Think Outside the Wooden Box”
Funeral Industry|Funeral News| Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy.
“Guess what? You’re going to die. Not today (with luck), not tomorrow (you hope), but some day. The Grim Reaper waits. Sure, you already knew that, and you try not to think about it. But before you flip the page, let me tell you the problem with death denial (those undertakers who happily profit on death fears can stop reading now). Ignorance may be bliss when it comes to mortality, but it’s going to cost you. Funerals are often more expensive than we expect, but learning about how much the average funeral costs and how to plan a low-cost funeral can really help save you money. If you have a green funeral, it can be relatively inexpensive, as well as better for the Earth.”
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