‘Green’ burial company offers new memorial products
by Lee van der Voo
Sustainable Business Oregon
A company that offers green burial services through a network of more than 1,800 providers is bringing its newest green products to Portland.
Dignity Memorial, a Houston-based company and the largest franchiser of funeral services in North America, has partnered with the Friends of Columbia Gorge and the Arbor Day Foundation to offer honorariums in Portland.
Grieving friends and family of the deceased can now donate to the agencies as parting tributes to those who lived environmentally conscious lives. Portland Dignity Memorial providers are matching donations to the Friends of Columbia Gorge by up to $5,000. The bereaved may also plant an acre of trees in the name of a deceased person through the Arbor Day Foundation for $700.
Dignity Memorial has been offering the services in Portland, and similar services in Colorado for about a month. To date there have been five sales.
“To us that’s a big success because that’s a portion of our customer base that now we can offer a service that they want,” said Dignity Memorial’s Karen Covington. “We really want to be able to offer our products to people who lived to be really environmentally conscious.”
The company already offers a range of services in Oregon, where Dignity Memorial’s providers account for 7.5 percent of the deathcare market. The company has 160 employees in 14 locations, including funeral homes and cemeteries. Two additional funeral homes are located in Southwest Washington.
In Portland, Dignity Memorial’s 11 locally operated funeral homes each offer “green” burial and cremation products and services. Earth-friendly products include caskets, urns and clothing, as well as the eco-conscious tribute options.
Local Dignity Memorial providers can be found through an online database. Five are approved by the Green Burial Council, a nonprofit organization that encourages environmentally sustainable deathcare and certifies providers: Lincoln Memorial Park & Funeral Home, Skyline Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, Young’s Funeral Home, Ross Hollywood Chapel, Bateman Funeral Home.
Covington said those providers offer a line of funeral and cremation products that are 100 percent natural and environmentally friendly.
Recent data suggests such options are becoming a more popular choice for consumers. A study conducted in 2007 by the American Association of Retired Persons revealed that 21 percent of adults aged 50 and over wanted greener burials. Subsequent studies have had similar results, including a 2010 survey by the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association in which 23 percent of customers said they were interested in environmentally friendly services.