THE DIRT ON NATURAL
ORGANIC REDUCTION
Article from NFDA’s Memorial Business Journal, USA
atural organic reduction has been
gaining interest across the consumer
spectrum. A number of articles have
appeared in consumer media about the
process, and at present, six states permit
natural organic reduction and several
others are considering bills. Washington
passed legislation in 2019, and Return
Home opened for business in the state
in June 2021. Another 15 states have
bills pending. Return Home provides
an end-of-life service legally known as
natural organic reduction. The company
uses
the
term
“terramation”
and
describes it as the process of a gentle
transformation into soil after someone
has died.
NFDA’s own research has found that consumers
are curious about the process. How curious?
Well, a look at Return Home’s presence on
social media would explain why articles on the
process to pop up from time to time. Each post
garners thousands of likes, with one post actually
receiving more than 52 million likes.
At the recent NFDA Cremation Success Seminar,
Return Home COO Brienna Smith and services
manager Katey Houston discussed their business
model and how it fits into today’s end-of-life
discussions.
Smith began by explaining the origin of the
term “terramation.” “We do not call cremation
‘human incineration,’ and for us, the term ‘human
composting’ is just a little bit difficult to take,”
she said. “It’s easier for us to talk to our families
having this earth transformation, or the process of
becoming, so terramation covers that and makes
it a little bit easier to talk to families about.”
Return Home built a facility in Auburn, Washington.
It is a licensed funeral home and natural organic
reduction provider in the state, with an 11,500
square-foot facility.
“We have a lot of visitors, sometimes even
multiple families at once,” offered Smith. “We
have a 74-vessel capacity… so we are the largest in
operation as far as our space.
“We are actually able to serve families not only
from Washington state but from all over the United
States and even Canada from our facility because
it’s just so close to an international airport,” she
added. Return Home is also like a normal funeral
home where visitors can walk in Monday through
Friday from 9 a.m.-5p.m.
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No. 104 – WINTER 2023 | THANOS MAGAZINE
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