How to farewell a loved one probably rarely crosses your mind, unless you’re confronted with having to arrange a funeral.
Funerals are universal across countries and cultures. Regardless of religion or nationality, bereaved families deal with their loved one’s body in a given way, according to tradition, family customs, or other conventions.
Momentos and gestures to express grief and to honor the deceased person often accompany the core ritual of disposing of the body.
However, funerals are rapidly changing as new solutions become available and trends like sustainability enter the mainstream. People are turning away from traditional arrangements and the funeral is undergoing a reinvention.
Home vigils
Home vigils are a growing trend in funerals, and in this approach, the bereaved family and friends create their own rituals and personally attend to the deceased’s body at home.
A home vigil is the complete opposite of the traditional practice of working with a funeral home and purchasing a complete coffin and service package. It reflects how people are seeking alternatives as costs for traditional funerals continue to rise.
Furthermore, dealing with your deceased’s body in a hands-on manner could be fulfilling rather than stressful. It could help with the grieving process. Professionals like end-of-life doulas can assist with the practical aspects like caring for the body, storing it with ice packs, and washing and dressing it.
DIY coffins
Another new trend is the DIY coffins. Creating a coffin from scratch could save you on funeral costs and offer a perfect fit for the deceased. A custom-made coffin can be highly personalized, and people can even sign up for coffin-making classes to make their own final resting place.
Green burials
When it comes to the burial itself, things are also changing. Green funerals and natural burials have been gaining momentum for decades. A natural burial usually means the remains are not embalmed before placement into a biodegradable coffin or shroud.
The body is then buried at the shallowest depth possible given local laws, as shallow burial facilitates faster decomposition. Typically the site has minimal marking and no headstone. These natural burials can be complemented with revegetation initiatives to bring flora back to areas and repopulate them with wildlife.
Freeze-drying
Beyond green burials are methods for liquefying or freeze-drying the body. These tend to be more eco-friendly than cremation. In some cases, the body can be turned into compost. Some people are choosing to move away from the formalized service to informal life celebrations like a garden party or a simple memorial service at home.
Online funeral marketplaces are another distinct trend reshaping the traditional business model and how people are saying goodbye. Instead of approaching funeral homes or taking a recommendation from a friend, anyone tasked with planning a funeral can use an online comparison site to explore their options and obtain competitive pricing.
Funeral startup marketplaces
In the wake of rising funeral costs, some startups have entered the billionaire dollar funeral industry to disrupt funeral operators. Often, these startup marketplaces will offer a variety of free guides to help bereaved families make informed decisions. However, anyone using these sites should keep in mind they’re often funded by advertising revenue from funeral homes.
The business model is also changing in other ways. Not-for-profit models are rising to challenge the traditional profit-focused funeral industry. These can be community-led, with a funeral adviser walking the bereaved family through their options and rights before the family starts arranging the funeral and commits to costs.
Looking to the future
In the past, the funeral industry might have been more resistant to change due to the subject matter and entrenched sense of taboo surrounding the topic of death. More recently, consumers seeking out new alternatives on the one hand and innovative providers entering the market on the other have driven a reinvention of the sector.
Consumers becoming more ecologically conscious and rethinking the topic of death will likely keep changing how the bereaved honor their loved ones. Funerals of the future could be even more sustainable and move further away from the solemn, highly formalized services of the past to positive celebrations of the deceased’s life.