Green Funerals: 5 Simple Ways to Have an Eco-Friendly Funeral

Posted by Urns Northwest

Looking for some simple and affordable ways to go green at the funeral, memorial, or life celebration? Here are some smart, simple, and easy-to-implement ideas.

5 Simple Ways to Have a Green Funeral

1. DIGITAL INVITES

Don't waste paper by sending invitations via snail mail.

Between email and social media, there are plenty of ways to get the word out without sending a stack of card stock through the post. This will not only save trees, but will also lower your funeral expenses since you won't be paying for invitations and postage.

2. DIGITAL FUNERAL PROGRAMS

While you're at it, include a digital copy of the funeral or memorial service program in your email or social media event post.

Encourage attendees to access the service order on their smartphone. If you have access to a projector, consider projecting the funeral program throughout the service.

In most cases, you'll probably still want to print some programs; add a small sign encouraging family and friends to share in order to minimize waste.

3. SKIP THE EMBALMING

Here are some green alternatives to embalming that will preserve the body without the use of formaldehyde:

Refrigeration.
Dry ice. Note: there are well-established safety guidelines for handling, storage, and ventilation when using dry ice as a preservative.
Formaldehyde-free embalming products. Ask your embalming product supplier about the formaldehyde-free products it may offer. Trials of aardbalm, an iodine-based embalming product, used by some United Kingdom funeral homes, are taking place in funeral homes in the United States.