Social Enterprises Spring up in the UK to Tackle Funeral Poverty

In the United Kingdom, basic funerals have reached a record-high average cost of around $5,045. But ethical funeral homes are stepping in to give mourners one less thing to worry about: the literal cost of losing a loved one.

In the past decade, funeral costs have been rising by 6% a year – a rate double that of inflation – causing one in eight people in Britain to go into debt to bury or cremate loved ones, according to a recent study by insurer Royal London. Aside from an increase in crematorium fees and a lack of burial plots, a major culprit is the practice of upselling. With grieving, vulnerable clients less likely to look around for alternative options, funeral directors could take advantage with less transparency on pricing.

With a goal to eliminate “funeral poverty”, non-profits such as Glasgow-based Caledonia Cremation and Westmill Woodland Burial Ground are slashing their prices with more affordable alternative services. Registered as community interest companies, they focus on donating or reinvesting their profits to the betterment of the community.

Westmill offers suggestions for ways customers can reduce costs, such as by carrying and lowering the coffins themselves. Caledonia Cremation, which has so far only broken even, offers direct cremations without a funeral service and with no grievers in attendance, at almost a quarter of the average fees.