Posts

Coffins, caskets and shrouds: how to die ‘green’.

Ever considered asking Alexa to order a Knight Black Brush Casket with velvet interior? Probably not. For most people, putting bodies in a coffin is an unpleasant experience and therefore one we avoid doing. Or even thinking about.

But it’s 2019 and we wanted to update you on the ins and outs of the e-commerce market for coffins and caskets. Also, we have questions. As said, you may not have considered asking Alexa to order a coffin, but it might just work. Because Amazon sells them online. However, the fact that you can now order an A.I. to order your final resting place doesn’t change one thing: coffins are bloody expensive.

Cheap deaths, cheap deaths, cheap as they can be

So, being the cheapskates that we are, we went looking for alternatives and wound up looking for the one thing Aliexpress doesn’t sell cheap replicas of. This is a weird thing, isn’t it? Think about it. You’re going to spend $1200 on a casket or coffin, and judging from the Amazon-reviews that is SAVING money. Some beds are cheaper and you’re presumed to be alive sleeping in those. Spending all that money for a box to put you in the ground, or worse, immediately burn seems like a huge waste. As well as an environmental hazard.

So are there other options? Yes. Yes there are. Some coffins are made of cardboard. And if you want to spice things up in your final resting place: some have custom prints on them. That may be a little better, but you still make cardboard out of wood. Shrouds are also an option and that seems like a better alternative: if they’re not polyester, the cloth is usually made without destroying forests and biodegradable. Also, you’re not burning up fine quality material or putting it in the ground.

However, there are also options that just don’t make sense. While we suppose that it’s fairly attractive to sell cheap laminated plywood coffins, we don’t see how – as one company does – they can be sold as the environmental option. They’re still dead wood with plastic on top. And while pine is biodegradable, that doesn’t necessarily mean Feet First Coffins is a responsible use of wood – especially if you plan on being cremated-, even if it is an improvement to the non-biodegradable coffins and caskets that dominate the market.