PROVIDING ALL OPTIONS: EMBALMING AND CREMATION

When polled, the responding public is casual about the treatment of their body post mortem. In TV and movies, people who aren’t grieved by a weeping crowd at a headstone are kept in urns as décor for the mantle. In podcasts, radio and social media, the request is to just cremate them or leave ‘em for the bears. No service, no fuss, just be done with it. After all, they’re done with their body so why would anyone else care about it?
But we know that’s not how we treat our loved ones, and not how they will treat us. When CANA and Homesteaders conducted our interviews for the Cremation Insights report, we looked for people who had “just cremated” (aka, direct cremation) but the research team came up empty. Everyone planned or held some kind of meaningful experience for their loved one, but some simply didn’t choose the cremation provider to do so.

Similarly, the research reminded us that cremation versus burial is an opposition that isn’t. If they had cemetery property, participants buried the cremated remains, while others reported dividing them or keeping them close with future plans to bury or inurn. Their opposition is toward a focus on the body expressed as casketed burial, versus life lived.

The same can be said for embalming. It is becoming more common for families to choose cremation and not to embalm. This is for a variety of personal and practical reasons including, but not limited to:

• Dislike for the concept of embalming
• It is a greener choice to not embalm
• Price
• Religious practices may prohibit or discourage embalming
• Preference to avoid invasive techniques
• Unaware they can embalm and cremate

CANA asked our members who supply embalming fluid and related products to funeral homes about some of these concerns.

the modern supply company

Like any long-term, sustainable business, a supply company must innovate and diversify to stay market leaders. CANA Members are no different. Each member described how they work to provide the best product and service in the industry. These companies support funeral homes, crematories, and cemeteries with a variety of new products, including memorialization options like personalized urns, improvements on tradition, and new formulas that respond to eco-conscious concerns and work better to preserve and present.
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While originally known as chemical companies, these CANA members continue their commitment to personalization and memorialization through diversified offerings. These companies have embraced cremation. Funeral directors and embalmers also rely on these experts for mortuary science education and continuing education on embalming, restorative arts and preparation training.

the value of embalming

​Viewing a loved one is an important part of the grieving process. After a death, the family may be able to realize cognitively that their loved one has died, but it can be more difficult to accept it emotionally. Seeing and touching the deceased helps overcome that barrier and confirms that the person they loved is truly dead.

The Dodge Company: For families, embalming provides the opportunity of time. When a person is embalmed, families have time to rest before making a difficult decision. They have time to gather if they would like, to be together and be with the deceased. Those serving the family have time to care for the deceased and make saying goodbye a better experience.

Eckels and Company: Simply put, all families are people and all families have needs as individual people first. Humans are touchy feely creatures. We hug. We hold hands. Clinical Care (embalming) allows people time and removes barriers to saying goodbye. We all feel what we see. When the people we love look their best, we feel better. Feeling better is good at a time when we feel bad.

Frigid Fluid Company: As funeral practitioners, we want to provide the services families are asking for. For us, a request for cremation does not negate the value of a funeral service with the loved one present. Embalming is performed to offset the postmortem changes that could make viewing challenging for the family. Decedent care not only provides time for funeral services and has public health implications, it also includes restoration to provide the family the opportunity to visit with the deceased in as natural a state as possible.

Kelco Supply Company: Embalming will allow us time to make arrangements and restore a more natural appearance of your loved one. Bringing together family and friends to allow a final memory or visual in a public or private setting allows a safe gathering space that encourages support and understanding that you’re not alone in your journey of grief.

The conversation could go something like: If you choose not to have a service, that is okay, but I want you to know that there will be times when you’re out at the grocery store, or attending church, etc. and people will ultimately walk up to you and ask about the death. This can happen when you least expect it, and you may not be prepared to do this over and over. Having a service can alleviate many of those sudden conversations that you may not be prepare for at that time. They will have learned about the circumstances of the death when attending the funeral service. Those that attend a funeral service are given an opportunity to find their own personal closure as well as to offer support to you and your family in the weeks, months or years ahead.

embalming and the environment

Cremation was promoted in the early 1900s by the founder of the North American cremation movement and CANA Dr. Hugo Erichsen as the most (or more) sanitary solution: “Every Crematist must be a missionary for the cause, and embrace every opportunity to spread its gospel: the good news of a more sanitary and more aesthetic method of disposing of our beloved dead.” Articles were written pitting cremation against burial from the beginning because cremation evangelists were promoting the gospel of cremation.

While the cremation movement sprang from a sanitary necessity and aesthetic preference, over time, as the embalming process evolved and medicine advanced, the argument for cremation as a means of purification after death dwindled. However, the health of our communities and our environment continues to factor into every big decision, including our final decisions on this earth. When asked about green funeral practices, more than half of surveyed US respondents say they are interested based on environmental, cost, and other considerations. So how do modern embalming practices measure up?

The Dodge Company: When I have been presented with this opinion, I have simply said that the idea of formaldehyde being environmentally unfriendly is inaccurate. It is a simple organic compound that has been robustly studied and found to have no environmental impact as it biodegrades quickly in air, water or in the ground. You will find no evidence of formaldehyde in any environment within hours of when it has been introduced. In numerous studies, formaldehyde has not been found in the soil or water of any cemetery.

Eckels and Company: People choose both embalming and cremation for many reasons and none of them are mutually exclusive. Sure, there is an environmental footprint to both choices, but embalming is greener than you may think. Regarding formaldehyde, it is a well-studied material. In 2017, the National Toxicology Program published a study that revealed some interesting facts. At Eckels we use no phenols, chlorinated solvents, glutaraldehyde, triclosan and other common toxic ingredients found in embalming fluids so our clients can breathe easy and know the watershed is respected.

Did you know that a well operated preparation room can embalm, on average, human remains using less water than it takes to create and serve a pint of beer at your local pub or a large cafe latte from your local barista? From our responsible packaging to what is not in our fluids we can help you provide a safe, healthy and healing experience for families in grief in a sustainable fashion at your funeral business.

Frigid Fluid Company: Formaldehyde is an organic molecule that is found in nature. When used as intended for funeral service there is little to no residual formaldehyde in the body. Any formaldehyde that is not denatured by body proteins is readily neutralized by nitrogen in the environment.

Kelco Supply Company: This may come off as “two wrongs don’t make a right” but there are so many household products that contain formaldehyde or that uses it during the process of manufacturing. From wood building products to wall paint, and beauty cosmetics to cigarettes, consumers are just not fully aware of its wide variety of uses and benefits as compared to the drawbacks. Understanding why formaldehyde is used can certainly put things into perspective and allow one to weigh the cost vs benefit factor when applying it to the decision-making process.
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The EPA sets regulations and limits on the use of formaldehyde and the funeral profession has not been excluded from their studies and review. Kelco is familiar with some aspects of research that is/has been completed with respect to alternate embalming fluid components, but from my understanding none of them compare to the firming affects, preservation or the appearance that formaldehyde offers when embalming a decedent.

every option, every time

CANA’s Code of Cremation Practice dictates that providers’ first consideration should be for “dignity and respect in the care of the deceased, in compassion for the living who survive them, and in the memorialization of life.” However a family decides to care for their loved ones, the primary concern is meeting their needs. Viewing the body before cremation or burial is an important part of the grieving process.

If consumers see cremation as everything that isn’t burial, they won’t request options associated with burial, such as embalming. But we know this divide is not real. Every consumer can decide for themselves how they wish their loved ones or themselves to be honored. The consumer will choose what they want, but you need to provide the options: embalming, body preparation, cremation, burial, services, witness… all of the above.

CONTACT THE EXPERTS
For more from CANA’s member experts in embalming fluid and supply:

The Dodge Company
800-443-6343
www.dodgeco.com

Since 1893, the Dodge Company has provided supplies for your funeral home, crematory, or cemetery. We carry a complete line of urns, urn vaults, and cremation supplies. Dodge manufactures and distributes preparation room supplies and is a source for memorial products through our partners Glass Remembrance and Capture Bead Keepsakes.
Consolidated Funeral Services, our technology partner, provides revenue generating websites to over 5,000 funeral homes.

Dodge has partnered with Insight Books and Doug Manning for over 30 years, supplying grief recovery materials and The Continuing Care Series. Please visit our webstore: https://shop.dodgeco.com

H.S. Eckels and Company
800-265-8350
www.eckelsandcompany.com
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Since 1895 Eckels has been the source of innovation, quality products and outstanding service to the funeral, cemetery and cremation professions.  With humble roots as an embalming chemical manufacturer, Eckels has grown to be a global brand in cremation products, chemicals, employee training and facility design with distributors and partners worldwide. The Eckels Impressions line of cremation products is one of the most extensive ranges of personalized and customized urns, keepsakes and jewelry on the market.  Experience the Eckels Advantage today.

Frigid Fluid Company
574-252-9492
www.frigidfluid.com
Frigid Fluid, based in Chicago, IL, has been owned & operated for over 120 years by members of the same family. Through 5 generations we have maintained the highest standards in manufacturing while also distributing some of the finest funeral and cemetery supplies throughout the world.

Kelco Supply Company
800-328-7720
KelcoSupply.com
Kelco Supply offers a full line of quality products used by funeral homes, cemeteries, medical examiners, hospitals and pet hospitals.  Prep room / Care Center equipment & embalming chemicals, products used for transfer, storage, and refrigeration of cadavers, cremation urns & supplies, for human and pets and cemetery equipment are all included in our extensive product assortment.
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Kelco is the supplier dedicated to serving funeral professionals. Our core mission is to provide our clients with the same exemplary level of service and respect that they provide for the deceased and bereaved ~ Like you're there for your families, we're there for you.

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Many thanks to all of the CANA Members who contributed their experience to this piece during such a busy season: Alicia Carr, President & CEO of Kelco Supply Company; Jeff Chancellor, CFSP, Director of Education, Training & Research of H.S. Eckels and Company; Tim Collison, Chief Operating Officer of The Dodge Company; and, Nelson Sanchez, Director of Sales for Frigid Fluid Company.
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Families should be provided with the option to view their loved one even if they don’t want embalming —and should also be  involved in selecting what techniques are used. CANA’s course, Presentation without Preservation, teaches minimally invasive preparation methods that can help make the viewing experience positive for families.