Current conventional funeral practices are, in our opinion, leaving a far higher environmental impact than is necessary.
Many people think it will cost more to have an eco-funeral but in fact the opposite is true. Let’s look at some of the simple ways that we can make a funeral a lot kinder on the planet.
There are many ways to ensure that the funeral is as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible, and this is so important to us at State of Grace. Simple things such as the coffin mattresses we use which are made from recycled wool and calico, to the plastic used which is a soft cornstarch plastic and fully biodegradable.
Embalming – currently in New Zealand approximately 90% of people are embalmed after death, while at State of Grace we reverse that trend and embalm approximately 10% of our clients. We always discuss this option with family before any decisions are made.
Our alternatives to embalming are to either keep the deceased person in our walk-in coolroom until the day of the funeral (family are welcome to come and spend time with them in our lounge), or to leave the person in their own home with a simple method of using icepacks or cooling blanket to keep the body cool.
Casket: We have a small range of simple, conventional caskets which can be used with a liner casket, thereby saving both money and resources. The choice ranges from a liner casket, placed inside one of our rental caskets and removed for cremation, right through to the beautiful hand-woven willow casket. There are many options in between.
Flowers: We use a local florist (fairyflowers.co.nz). Many families put their own floral arrangement together using flowers and native foliage from their own gardens, and some have also invited guests to bring a posy to the funeral.
These are just a few of the ways in which we can lower the environmental impact of each funeral.
We have an eco burial area in Auckland – at Waikumete Cemetery. Please contact us for further information.
