News on Green/Natural Burial and Coffin & Casket Making
Green Burials Bring Peace of Mind to Final Rest - The Lund Report - March 2, 2011
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Cynthia Beal, the founder of Eugene-based Natural Burial Company, says the key for death-related products is using the
right materials for the right job. "Why in the world would you make a coffin a single use item out of stamped steel
with all of that embodied energy? Forget the natural piece. I'd focus on just the sheer economics of it. A coffin is
like a disposable piece of furniture."
Green is the new black: Eco-friendly funerals a growing trend - Quote Funeral - February 24, 2011
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The aim of the green burial movement is to reduce the ecological footprint of the American way of death through
reducing the use of toxic chemicals that cause harm both to the environment and funeral workers, promoting
sustainable and environmentally sensitive burial practices, and conserving burial land in its natural state.
Green burial advocates also encourage the revival of older, abandoned customs such as home funerals and burials."
Neutral is Not Good Enough: We're Planting 100 Trees for Every Casket We Build - Blog at Northwoods Casket Company - December 7, 2010
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Carbon neutrality is a key concept in today's popular commercial trend in "Green" marketing. It is so popular, in fact,
that the Federal Trade Commission has issued a recommendation to revise its "green guides" that it gives to marketers to
avoid misleading environmental claims. The notion that the carbon emitting practices of the post-industrialized world have
outpaced the planet's capability to recycle carbon dioxide has...
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Some people ask me, "How does a natural burial save our planet?" There are several answers to this question. For
those who subscribe to the carbon counting method of measuring our impact on the planet, this question can be
answered scientifically and the impact of a typical steel or wooden casket can be quantified in terms of the carbon
emitting activities leading up to the construction, transportation, and burial of a casket.
Federal Trade Commission Proposes Revised "Green Guides" - Federal Trade Commission - October 6, 2010
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The Federal Trade Commission today proposed revisions to the guidance that it gives marketers to help them avoid making
misleading environmental claims. The proposed changes are designed to update the Guides and make them easier for
companies to understand and use.
The Rebirth of Death: Natural Burial (and Build Your Own Coffin Plans) - The Tangled Nest - July 27, 2010
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There’s something for everyone here: personal philosophy, care for the earth, and even a DIY coffin plan! I hope you’ll share this
post with your friends and dear ones as a way of inviting discussion on this essential theme–finding our way gracefully through
the turning of life.
DIY Coffin Making - Blog at Makezine.com - June 7, 2010
"When I was 20 years old, I helped
my best friend die of cancer. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, and also one
of the most soul-satisfying. In the grand circuitry of life, there is nothing like the literal grounding of a death to complete
that circuit. His close friends were involved in every aspect of his passing. And we made his coffin. I was not involved directly
in that, and it was little more than a basic pine box with a handsome lining, but it was more beautiful to me than anything that
could have been bought.
Building my father's coffin - Salon.com - June 4, 2010
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In his last years my father, the writer William Manchester, told me, "When I die. I want you children to build my
coffin." He’d gotten the idea sometime in the '70s, when a Wesleyan chemistry professor died, and his sons, following
a Catalan custom, spent the night before the funeral building his coffin in their basement. My dad explained, "It will
give you and your sisters a focus for your grief."
IKEA-ish DIY Coffin - Jing Junk Blog - July, 2008
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We all know how helpful and lovely IKEA's furniture have been... cheap designer's furniture that we have to assemble
ourselves and they're found almost everywhere~~~ anyway... what would it feel like having the last piece of furniture you'll
ever get to use with your body yet another piece of DIY furniture?
Build your own coffin - DIY Life - October 3, 2007
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Anyone who's ever been in the unfortunate position of having to plan a funeral knows that funerals are shockingly expensive,
and that the coffin itself can be a large part of the cost. But if your wood shop skills are decent, it's totally possible to
build your own coffin, to be used when necessary (even if "when necessary" means "at your next Halloween party").
Outhouse Charlie makes kits for do-it-yourself coffins - Seattle Post-Intelligencer - September 13, 2004
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A "world-famous mountain man," Charlie Hetrick put out a flier advertising custom caskets as a joke. He received six
orders and never looked back. Some clients use theirs as tables or bookcases until the end.
Homemade Caskets: You Can Make a Coffin - Mother Earth News - April/May 2003
"Regardless of the approach you choose, building a coffin
is engaging, well within the reach of those with moderate skills, and a great way to be reminded of the need to live well now. Take it from me,
there's nothing like building your own casket to be powerfully reminded of your own mortality.
Shelf With Soul: Home Bookcase Unit + DIY Coffin Design - DORNOB.com
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Morbid, maybe, but sustainable as well: this combination wooden bookcase-and-coffin idea takes the concept of
eco-friendly "cradle-to-grave" and applies it with dark literal humor.
Coffin & Casket Books
Do-It-Yourself Coffins: For Pets and People -
Amazon.com - $11.64
Dale Power departs from his usual animal carvings, burying himself in a new art form the manufacture of special boxes
for pets and people. Heres one project you wont want to put off till tomorrow. All of the tools and techniques needed to produce
strong and beautiful coffins are presented here in clear, concise language. Color photographs illustrate every step in the
construction of three pet-size and three human-size coffins. Detailed patterns are provided and different box construction
techniques are revealed. One box design even doubles as a beautiful blanket chest or coffee table. Once the coffins are built,
the discussion turns to the many moldings, appliques, linings, and finishes which may be used to make each coffin unique.
A color gallery is also provided. With full color illustrations and detailed instructions, this book is a challenge to the
novice and a joy for the experienced craftsman.
Profits of Death: An Insider Exposes the Death Care Industries -
Amazon.com - $15.80
This is the expose' that still has the funeral and cemetery industries reeling from aftershocks. Industry
insider Darryl J. Roberts uncovers how the death care industry manipulates consumers into overspending at the
most vulnerable time of their lives. He also tells readers everything they need to know about making final
arrangements--including how to save up to 50% in costs.
Fancy Coffins to Make Yourself -
Amazon.com - $11.64
Heres the help you need for one of lifes most critical undertakings -- making your own coffin. Author and craftsman Dale Power revisits
one of his most popular woodworking projects with additional embellishment, adding finery and fancy to what could easily become your final
resting place. Easily, that is, since, more than 230 color photos and detailed instructions have been provided to help guide you step by
step toward your own casket. This project might truly be your lifes finest accomplishment. The installation of working coffin hardware,
both exterior and interior, is explored and the proper application of finishes and linings are explained. Patterns for the coffin are
provided, along with two lid designs. The color photo gallery and detailed instructions will challenge the novice and inspire experienced craftsmen.
FUNERALS: Official FTC Guide for Consumers -
Amazon.com
- $2.99 (for Kindle)
This ebook for Kindle includes pricing laws, list of costs, coffin/caskets facts & much more - 16 pages.
Each year, 22,500 cemeteries across the United States bury approximately 30 million board feet of hardwood caskets,
90,272 tons of steel caskets, 14,000 tons of steel vaults, 2700 tons of copper and bronze in caskets, 1,636,000 tons
of reinforced concrete vaults, and 827,060 US gallons of embalming fluid--which most commonly includes formaldehyde.
Compiled from statistics by Casket and Funeral Association of America, Cremation Association of North America,
Doric Inc., The Rainforest Action Network, and Mary Woodsen, Pre-Posthumous Society. Read more at Wikipedia.com on
Natural Burial.
