Evolve or die?

SAIF thanks Paul Allcock, previous National President, for his blog.

I read today that Washington State has become the first to legalise human composting in the USA. There have been a number of alternatives to burial and cremation proposed in recent years and it will be interesting to see how long it is before we see our loved ones laid to compost and then returned to us to use in our gardens as we see fit!

Based on research, the final process involves placing the body in a mix of wood chips and similar composting materials, allowing heat-loving microbes and bacteria to get to work. Remains are apparently also heated to 55 C, killing off contagions so the resulting soil is safe to use. This is surely going to be popular with those of us concerned about the environment.

In Washington this is also seen as a practical option due to there being limited burial space. Well this is certainly a scenario we are very familiar with in the UK, and with the many new alternatives available to fulfil peoples wishes for their funeral arrangements, I can see this becoming a choice available in the non too distant future. I think this may well be another new popular option
for some as, when and if it becomes legal in the UK.

As funeral directors, we are now more than ever having to keep up with the ever changing elements that are available to fulfil our clients wishes. This isn’t always easy and seems to be evolving in 2019 at a faster rate than ever before.

The large funeral director groups who have the resources to keep right up to date with everything that is happening undoubtedly have an advantage over smaller independent funeral directors in identifying new trends.

However, the smaller the company, the more unique is the service is which is already offered. Therefore if small companies expand on their uniqueness and ensure they are up to date with these new trends and available
services, the stronger they will become.

Many businesses have had to evolve in recent years, due to the changes happening around them. Take our local pubs as an example following the banning of smoking in public places, they have had to diversify or go out of business. Over the coming years I suspect that funeral directors may well have to do the same.