What exactly is a green funeral? It’s a funeral that uses products and methods that leave as small an environmental footprint as possible.

Basic funerals seem like a huge waste to me – of both money and material. I don’t even consider myself all that crunchy and I still think it makes more sense for me to go into the ground in a way that fertilizes the tree instead of cutting down that tree and making a box to put me in.

I think planting something nice on top of me is a way better marker than a hunk of stone. I’m also all for skipping the chemicals used in embalming because they are terrible for the environment and even worse for the people working with them all the time.

When I mentioned to my mom that this is the kind of funeral I’d like to have, she immediately laughed at me and asked if they’re just supposed to bury me in the backyard next to my old guinea pig. It seems like that’s what a lot of people think if you start to talk about green funerals.

Funerals, like weddings, are such emotionally and tradition loaded events that as soon as you start to talk about doing it a little differently, a lot of people become instantly wary. In reality, a green funeral can be almost identical to a traditional funeral. You can also opt to use some aspects of a green funeral – like certain products or final resting place – and not use others

You can still have a program like funeral photo presentation that reflects your wishes and keeps the ceremony meaningful. Just like with traditional funerals, you can include elements that are important to you, whether that’s specific readings, music, or rituals. You can still be laid out. There’s a lot to be said about the cathartic nature of wakes and funeral ceremonies and you can still have one exactly like someone who is going to be cremated or buried in a regular cemetery. You can be laid out with a shroud or in a simple pine box or an assortment of biodegradable caskets.

Additionally, you can rent a casket from many funeral homes, usually for cremation, but in this case it can be used for the viewing and then you can actually be buried in a more environmentally friendly manner.

You can also still have a church service using one of the biodegradable coffins or the rental from a funeral parlor.

One great resource is a group called the Green Burial Council*, which is worth looking into if you are very interested in this. They have standard by which a funeral home or cemetery have to operate to call themselves Green Burial Council certified, and if they are, that’s a quick way to know if they are accustomed to dealing with green requests or even able to guide you down that journey, if you’re interested but don’t know much.

Another great resources is the Funeral Consumers Alliance, which is an alliance of mortuary professionals set on dispelling myths, and making sure it’s easy for customers to get all the financial information they need to make good choices about their final plans. The FCA applies to all types of funerals, nut just green burials.

Speaking of financial information, one of the most interesting things I’ve learned on this research journey so far is that while most of the green funeral service providers I’ve contacted are extremely friendly, their websites are NOT consumer friendly. You often have to email them to request prices and discuss orders. Then they want you to call them. On the phone. My depth of hatred for the phone knowns no bounds, so I feel that this business model is, by far, the least awesome aspect of green burial. Hopefully, the next few posts will manage to answer some of your money questions though.

Over the next few days, I’m going to look at the three aspects that make up a green funeral:

• Green Funeral Products
• Green Funeral Homes
• Green Cemeteries

Besides being a total weirdo and thinking about the general kind of funeral I’d like someday, I also have some opinions on the type of service I’d like to have. This is one of the three songs I’d want included:

Have you ever thought about how you’d want your own funeral service to go?

*Interestingly enough, when I started contacting different companies to ask about their services and products for the next few posts, I learned that several are not that fond of the Green Burial Council. They claim they’ve gone a little overboard with increasing their required certifications since it’s the main way the Council takes in money. I heard this enough times to think there’s some merit to it – so while I still recommend them as a fine starting point and think their certification program is valid, if you find a company that is not Green Burial Council approved, I would not write them off immediately. However, you should be sure to confirm the merits of any claim a company makes regarding their environmental impact.

*This post is part of the Lifestyle Carnival at My Life, I Guess.*