The death care industry in the United States includes companies and organizations that provide services related to death: funerals, cremation or burial, and memorials. This includes for example funeral homes, coffins, crematoria, cemeteries, and headstones.[1][2] The death care industry within the U.S. consists mainly of small businesses,[3] although there has been considerable consolidation over time.[4]
The death care industry in the United States is controversial due to the exorbitant costs of services, as well as the adverse impact of common U.S. funeral practices.[4] The practices of death care companies are frequently supported by onerous state regulations that hike up prices and worsen environmental effects.[4]
- ^ "Religion: The Death Industry". Time. 14 November 1960. Archived from the original on December 5, 2007.
- ^ "The 10 Companies That Control the Death Industry". The Atlantic Monthly. 19 January 2011.
- ^ Lawton, William (2016). "U.S. Department of Commerce. Industry Focus: Death Care" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-02-19. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
- ^ a b c Cummins, Eleanor. "How 'Big Funeral' Made the Afterlife So Expensive". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2021-10-03.