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The experience of losing a loved one is not a familiar event. In most cases, procedures are not well understood by the family and the experience can be overwhelming.
At Final Footprint, we supply biodegradable caskets, advise for home services, transportation, home funeral services, and other natural burial considerations that help the ceremony fit the family’s wishes.
Every year, more people are becoming aware of the impact their daily decisions have on the world around them. Many people have found that natural burial is more compassionate for their families and the earth.
Families are able to care for their loved one’s body and say their farewells in the familiar surroundings of their own home. Then the body is buried in an eco-friendly casket or shroud that allows the body to return to the earth in a natural setting. No embalming fluids are needed, so the body can safely become part of the natural environment.
Current commercial burial practices typically involve transporting a loved one’s body to a mortuary, replacing the blood with embalming fluid, purchasing an elaborate metal or hardwood casket. This is followed by interment in a thick metal and concrete vault. Many people believe these practices will preserve the body, but they actually only serve to delay its decomposition.
Green burial is a simple and environmentally sustainable way to honor your loved one’s wishes. Morgan Oaks Eternal Reserve is a natural burial site in Lincoln, CA, recommended by Final Footprint.
Gallons of Embalming Fluid
Tons of Reinforced Concrete Burial Vaults
Tons of Steel in Caskets and Vaults
Tons of Copper and Bronze
Board Feet of Hardwood
The Natural Burial Cemetery Guide by Ann Hoffner lists over 125 cemeteries across the US organized by region and state. Available complete or in one of four editions, Northeast, South, Midwest or West. Detailed entries and photos bring the cemeteries to life. Each edition includes introductory material and some of the funeral homes that work with green burial customers.
For more information and to purchase: www.greenburialnaturally.org
During the Civil War, the bodies of fallen soldiers had to be transported by train to their home communities far from the battlefields. Out of necessity, the use of embalming fluids and other methods to delay decomposition of the bodies became commonplace. As a result, the modern funeral industry came into being.
Final Footprint is dedicated to supplying the finest environmentally-friendly caskets and urns available. We are also committed to providing education about natural burial as well as support and resources for those families who choose home funerals.
Since 1994, Jane Hillhouse has been passionately working toward “greening” the funeral industry. As the founder of Colorful Coffins, Jane began her business by supplying biodegradable caskets, urns, and ash containers to families who wanted environmentally-friendly alternatives. In 2009, Jane’s original business evolved into Final Footprint when she became an international distributor for an English casket company. In 2010, based on American customer input, she developed her own line of environmentally-friendly coffins, caskets, and urns. Many of these are produced in the United States by American craftspeople. Through Jane’s outreach at conferences, festivals, and through interviews with national media, she provides education regarding “green” burial practices to the wider community. She has also been instrumental in the development of natural burial grounds.
Jane is an active member of the Funeral Consumer Alliance as well as Green Business Network® and Green America®. She offers educational presentations for funeral homes and hospice organizations, and for clergy and the public. She is also a regular participant in Green Festivals throughout the United States. Jane and Final Footprint have been featured in radio and print media, including Huffington Post and KPIX.
