Funeral Industry Takes Green Slant

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Environmentally friendly funerals featuring coffins made of cardboard from fast-growing trees and urns that decompose in the soil are becoming more popular.

Environmentally friendly funerals featuring coffins made of cardboard from fast-growing trees and urns that decompose in the soil are becoming more popular.


Ceremony Co., a funeral home operator in Tokyo, has released cardboard coffins made with pinewood imported from North America and wastepaper. The fact that pines grow quickly and are replanted under afforestation plans, has alleviated concerns surrounding destructive lumbering of conventional lauan wood.


"I sympathize with their policy of caring for the environment," said Yasuko Uchida, a 37-year-old housewife who bought a cardboard coffin for her father who died in July.


Even though cardboard coffins first appeared on the market about 15 years ago, they did not catch on quickly because they broke easily.


Willife K.K., a funeral planner in Tokyo, and Kyowa Wood Works Co., a major maker of religious goods, jointly developed the coffin. They improved the cardboard by using adhesives made from corn to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide as the body decomposes. The average market price for these coffins is ¥100,000, only slightly more expensive than conventional coffins.


Saiju Temple in Kyoto made a "garden cemetery" in May, where they plant plants instead of setting up grave stones. Instead of urns, they use capsules made from tea leaves that decompose in the soil. A burial costs ¥135,000.


Bioart in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, also sells urns made from vegetable protein. The prices vary according to size, ranging from ¥26,250 to ¥36,750.


A company in Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture, sells burial goods made from thin wood shaped like an item of the deceased's choice, such as a golfclub or fishing rod, for about ¥10,000.


Koekisha, a major funeral home operator in Osaka, uses dry ice and a cold insulator to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from bodies. The insulator is used at about 70 percent of the 9,000 funerals the firm organizes each year, a company representative said. Insulators can be reused after being sanitized, which reduces costs, the representative said.


Global warming is a hot topic, generating interest in how to be environmentally friendly. Some companies in the funeral industry have responded to such concerns by trying to save resources to reduce the effect on the environment and get an edge on competitors.


"I hope such moves in the funeral industry spread," said journalist Hajime Himonya. "Such efforts will help consumers choose a company that serves their interests."


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Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News