The aging baby boomers have been moving into retirement like a tsunami and have the potential to negatively impact economic growth, straining the economy. Certain sectors will boom, such as pharmaceuticals, caskets, and bingo games, but overall, old folks slow down. Perhaps this will be the boomers' final legacy, sending the economy into a tailspin by merely getting old. Now that's ironic. The Death Care industry is poised to grow with this tsunami of Baby Boomers; however, the last hurrah of the Baby Boomer generation could be to morph this pretentious and fragile industry by merely getting back to funeral basics. (Written pre-Covid)
The American Way of Death Revisited by Jessica Mitford, 1996, Excerpts, First Publication 1963
A brief look backwards establishes that there is no resemblance between the funeral practices of today and those of even seventy-five to one hundred years ago, and that there is nothing in the “history of Western civilization” to support the thesis of continuity and gradual development of funeral customs. On the contrary, the salient features of the contemporary American funeral [beautification of the corpse, metal casket and vault, banks of store-bought flowers, the ubiquitous offices of the “funeral director”] are all of very recent vintage in this country, and each has been methodically designed and tailored to extract maximum profit for the trade. Of all the changes in the funeral scene over the last decades, easily the most significant is the emergence of monopolies in what the trade is pleased to call the “death care” industry. Of the three publicly traded major players – Service Corporation International [SCI], the Loewen Group, and Stewart Enterprises – SCI, incorporated in 1984, is the undisputed giant.
10 May 2006, Form 10-Q
Over the long-term, we believe that
our industry leadership, along with superior brand, reputation, financial
strength and geographic reach, will result in expanded growth opportunities
with the aging of the Baby Boom generation.
Embalming
Famous Preserved
Bodies
19 August 2010
So much of travel is about coming
face to face with history. And in some cases, that can be more literal than
most. Here are six earlier humans who have been preserved – through accident or
intent – for us to meet hundreds (and thousands) of years later.
First funeral held using ‘living coffin’ made of mushroom fibre
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/15/first-funeral-living-coffin-made-mushroom-fibre-netherlands?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
15 May 2020
After months of testing, the first funeral has taken place in the Netherlands using a fast-composting “living coffin” made of mycelium, the mat of fibers that forms the underground part of fungi. Mycelium is constantly looking for waste products – oil, plastic, metals, other pollutants – and converting them into nutrients for the environment. The process by which a human body in a traditional coffin becomes compost can often take a decade or more, slowed by the varnished wood and metals of the casket and synthetic clothing. A mycelium coffin will be absorbed back into the soil within a month or six weeks, actively contributing to the full decomposition of the body it contains and enriching the surrounding soil quality – all within a period of two to three years.
Washington state is first to allow human composting
21 May 2019
Governor Jay Inslee signed
legislation Tuesday making Washington the first state to approve composting as
an alternative to burying or cremating human remains. It allows licensed
facilities to offer “natural organic reduction”, which turns a body, mixed with
substances such as wood chips and straw, into about two wheelbarrows’ worth of
soil in a span of several weeks. Loved ones are allowed to keep the soil to
spread, just as they might spread the ashes of someone who has been cremated –
or even use it to plant vegetables or a tree. Supporters say the method is an
environmentally friendly alternative to cremation, which releases carbon
dioxide and particulates into the air, and conventional burial, in which people
are drained of their blood, pumped full of formaldehyde and other chemicals
that can pollute groundwater, and placed in a nearly indestructible coffin,
taking up land. https://www.recompose.life/
Washington could legalize composting of human remains
12 Mar 2019
Washington is now on the verge of
becoming the first US state to legalize human composting, also known as
“recomposition”. The legislation would allow facilities in the state to legally
compost bodies in a licensed facility by breaking them down into nutrient-rich
soil. Like any animal body, humans
contain a lot of protein and moisture. In order to help them quickly break
down, they are placed in a vessel with oxygen and plant materials, such as wood
chips, alfalfa, and straw. This combination also spurs microbial activity,
which gets rid of any type of bacterium or virus on the body. The process
typically takes about 30 days. Human composting would also be a much greener
after-death option, as it uses one-eighth the energy of cremation, and for
every person who picks it over cremation or burial, it will save over a metric
ton of CO2.
The new death industry: funeral businesses that won’t
exploit grief
08 Jan 2018
Death needn’t be as mysterious or
expensive as it has become. That’s according to a new band of entrepreneurs who
are aiming to challenge what they claim is the oppressive and sometimes
exploitative industry that profits from our inevitable demise. Death, says
Poppy Mardall, founder of Poppy’s Funerals, has “become a conveyor-belt
experience”, with large funeral companies industrializing the process of caring
for people’s bodies. What needs to change, she believes, “is the whole way a
bereaved person is treated from the moment they get in touch”. It’s not so much
about the industry modernizing, she says, “but reflecting on the levels of
service an undertaker is able to offer, treating a person like an individual,
trying to create an atmosphere that’s warm and comfortable, and without fear”. https://www.poppysfunerals.co.uk/
Wal-Mart starts selling coffins
30 Oct 2009
Prices range from a "Mom" or "Dad Remembered" steel coffin for $895 to a bronze model at $2,899. The retailer is allowing customers to plan ahead by paying for the caskets over 12 months for no interest. They can be dispatched within 48 hours. Catering for cradle-to-grave needs, Wal-Mart already sells everything from baby wear to engagement rings.
Artist: Paul Insect –
Death by Consumerism
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