If you’ve ever looked at the options available for coffins or caskets, you’ll know how daunting it can seem to choose the perfect one. With traditional coffins, there are so many choices of timber, plus varnish options, handle options … and it all comes at a cost. Often that cost is also to the environment, as many of the choices available are definitely not environmentally friendly. And at the end of the day, you still may not feel as if you’ve ended up with a coffin that truly reflects your loved one — their personality, their interests, even their taste in colours.
So, what are the alternatives? In this article, we’ll look at a range of options for creating the perfect, personalized coffin that is also eco-friendly and — even better! — often far cheaper than the conventional alternatives available from many funeral parlours.
The flatpack coffin
These days, it’s possible to buy a sustainably built, sturdy, attractive coffin that can be delivered to your door as a flatpack, ready for you to put together. Usually, all the tools that you need are delivered as part of the package, and the coffin can be assembled by the average person in around half an hour.
European company, Coffin in a Box, leads the way with affordable, customisable, eco-coffins. Their coffins can be delivered around the world, and they’ve thought of the most environmentally friendly option at every step of the process, from construction to delivery. Their products are also fully compatible with natural or green burial, as well as cremation or water cremation/resomation, plus they’re quick and easy to put together — you don’t even need tools or glue.
Canadian company, Fiddlestick Casket Company, is another option for beautiful, easy-to-assemble flatpack coffins. The kits include step-by-step constructions as well as a hammer, the only tool you’ll need, and can be shipped throughout Canada and the USA. They have my favorite option — a casket that comes with five adjustable shelves so that it can be used as an attractive bookshelf until you need it!
Wherever you live, you’re increasingly likely to be able to find someone ready to ship a coffin to your door. Carried Away offers a comprehensive service in New Zealand, that even includes instructional videos to help you with the assembly process.
Cardboard coffins
For a wonderfully eco-friendly and fully customizable option, you could consider a cardboard coffin. These are far sturdier than they might sound! Greenfield Coffins in the UK offers a staggering range of options, that can all be shipped to you. As well as plain coffins that you can decorate yourself, they offer pictorial coffins that can be personalized with images that reflect your own or your loved one’s interests and hobbies. (And if you choose to do the decorating yourself, there’s a huge range of eco-friendly paints and other art supplies available now for you to choose from.)
Also in the UK is the Coffin Company, that offers a simple, economical, eco-friendly cardboard coffin — made partly from recycled materials — that is ideal for both natural burial or cremation. Each coffin is delivered to you fully assembled.
Build your own coffin
If you’re a bit of a handyman, or ready to take on more of a challenge, it’s also possible for you to build a coffin from scratch. Northwoods Casket Company have great plans available for free on their website, with detailed instructions that take you step by step through the process. And if you’d like some additional support or help, you should consider joining (or starting) a coffin club!
Coffin clubs — the power of community
The first coffin club was established in New Zealand in 2010. Called the Kiwi Coffin Club, it was started by a group of like-minded people who wanted to demystify death and end-of-life planning. They decided to build their own coffins, that they could decorate as they chose. The process not only helped them come to terms with the concept of death and dying, but also enabled them to create coffins that were a genuine reflection of themselves. The club has grown from strength to strength, and has become a charitable trust. It’s also inspired people around the world to form coffin clubs of their own.
The Community Coffin Club was the first in Australia, while in the UK, an organization called the Coffin Club has expanded on the idea and now meets in numerous towns and cities, bringing people together to learn about the many end-of-life options available, and help people to become more active in planning a funeral that truly feels right for them.
Helping with grief and acceptance
Whether you build your own coffin or simply decorate it, the process of being involved in the creation of the coffin has been shown to be an enormously powerful experience for both the loved one and their family. For the person dying, it’s a way for them to take back some choice and control. For their loved ones, it can be a very healing part of the grieving process. And the end result is always something to be proud of — a coffin that is a true reflection of the person’s life.
Conclusion
Whether you want to avoid the expense of a traditional coffin, or simply want to have a coffin that reflects your personality or that of your loved one, I hope this article has shown you that there are many other options out there that are also eco-friendly. So, follow your heart, and create that perfect one-of-a-kind coffin.