The funeral industry is changing like never before, and there are many different trends emerging, not all with the consumer in mind. We zero in on some of the most noticeable and sometimes disturbing trends in the industry.

Various on line suppliers sell caskets, in addition to large retailers like Costco. Make the Today Center your first call, they provide caskets at invoice price plus $100 and shipping if applicable. The Today Center advocates purchasing and carries simple caskets that most people prefer.

Discount Funeral Providers appear inexpensive at first, but beware. They use "low-price" advertising to get your attention, but most of the time they rely on hidden costs and getting you to buy an overpriced casket to increase profitability. When choosing this option, use caution. Retailers such as Costco are beginning to sell discount caskets in their stores and online, but there is tremendous pushback (as well as lawsuits) from the funeral industry.

Green funerals — and burials — are a growing trend in the deathcare industry, and take a conservationist approach to burial. Green funerals use environmentally-friendly materials in caskets, and require no embalming be performed. The first "green" cemetery in the U.S. was formed in South Carolina in 1996, at the Ramsey Creek Preserve.

The green burial movement has also expanded to include burial in manmade reefs. A Georgia-based company called Eternal Reefs will mix cremated remains into life-supporting concrete "reef balls," which have drawn acclaim in the environmental movement for their benefit to aquatic life.

Bringing the care of a loved one full circle, the home funeral movement brings the funeral back to it's origins in the family home. While this option may not be for everyone it can be tremendously rewarding. The Today® Center is uniquely qualified to assist and help create this special life event in the home. Make the Today® Center your first call to help you coordinate this type of funeral.

There's plenty of new trends (such as "green" funerals), issues (such as cremation vs. burial), and controversies (such as overcharging), surrounding the funeral industry. The links below explore many of these issues and controversies, some even radically so. We do not endorse or hold the information on the linked websites to be true; it is your job to make this determination. But it is our duty as an advocate to make this information available. So read on, and decide for yourself.