Death Care Industry

The death care industry consists of funeral homes, mortuaries, and other funeral providers who provide services for the dead as well as ways the living can honor the deceased. The death care industry around the world has evolved to serve the needs of the deceased and the bereaved, based on societal conditions, cultural proscriptions, and consumer demand.

Beginnings of the Modern Death Care Industry

The creation of the American funeral industry can be traced back to the circumstances of the American Civil War during which time transportation of the deceased back to his or her home without decomposition became very important. Methods to temporarily preserve the corpse were developed, although most Americans were not aware of these procedures and did not accept any “unnatural” intervention into the dead body's organic processes of decomposition. In time, the practice of embalming became more acceptable to Americans to ensure that they could have a last look at their lost loved ones with a pleasant appearance. These changes in the American funeral industry occurred as the end of the 19th century drew near. The industry gained economic power by the mid-20th century.

In other parts of the world, developments occurred along varying timetables. For example, the first Chinese funeral home was built by an [Page 306]American in Shanghai around 1924. Chinese funeral homes began to spread in that area, as local apprentices learned the practice of embalming and knowledge about management from the owner of the American funeral home. After the Communist government came to power in China, all the funeral homes were taken over by and run by the government until the beginning of the 21st century. In developing countries like Taiwan, where there are both privately owned and government-owned facilities, the industry is no older than 30 years.

Prior to the development of the Chinese funeral industry, in 1880, the Japanese funeral companies originated in Tokyo, where they provided the service of lending funeral accessories to the bereaved and facilitating religious services for Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies, as well as arranging funerals and porters to carry the coffins. Since World War II, the Japanese funeral industry has developed along with other consumer services, following the economic development of the rest of the country.

The Death Care Industry Today

In the modern era, the death care industry is divided into three segments: (1) funeral (or memorial) services, which include pre-need planning and aftercare;(2) interment; and (3) grave memorialization. To adapt to societal changes and capture their share of the market, funeral directors have launched aggressive advertising campaigns; moved their operations into unconventional settings, such as shopping malls; and tried to shed their gloomy image using a variety of strategies, such as painting their hearses in colors other than black. Funeral directors have become more flexible, arranging services that accommodate personal choices, such as the scattering of ashes across lakes or mountains. Of all the changes in the funeral scene over the past decades, easily the most significant is the emergence of monopolies. Owners of funeral homes include individuals or families, local owners and smaller companies, corporations, and large chain companies in developed countries, such as Service Corporation International (SCI), which owns nearly 500 cemeteries. In contrast, in some developing countries like mainland China, the funeral industry is government supported.

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