Kiwi designs lightweight, eco-friendly coffin

A New Zealand company has come up with a new, eco-friendly coffin which hopes to find favour with pall-bearers through its featherweight construction.

The `Essence' coffin from manufacturer Return to Sender is made from plywood rather than solid timber, has integrated handles, requires less glue and does not need an artificial wood grain finish.

An empty coffin is just 20kg and designer Greg Holdsworth says it can be held with just one arm, allowing women, children and elderly mourners to take up the role of pall-bearer.

"I wanted to make an affordable coffin which used as few resources as possible. Using minimal materials makes the coffin extraordinarily lightweight. Celebrants and funeral directors have been telling me it will give friends and family more choices in who carries their deceased loved one."

Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand president Neil Little said eco-coffins had been around for some time now and the attraction of this model may come down to its futuristic design.

"It's a completely different style of coffin. It's quite modern looking. An eco-coffin is generally coffin shaped, a bit rustic looking and made out of pine."

Mr Little said his Auckland business, Davis Funeral Services, reported eco-coffin sales were helped by being "a bit trendy".

"We have a funeral at the moment we are using one for. We have had three or four used so far.

"I guess our only question is how `eco' is ply, I suppose."

Mr Little said some people heard eco-coffin and thought it meant economy rather than ecology.

"But the interesting thing is it's not really an economy option. Because most of them are made of solid timber they tend to cost a bit more than your average casket."

Mr Holdsworth said the idea came to him when he saw his father-in-law -- a lover of woodwork and old wooden boats -- buried in a plastic woodgrain-coated coffin.

"This didn't reflect his values or his passions during life," he said.

The Essence coffin comes with a woolen mattress, pillow and biodegradable lining and has been strength tested with a 137kg volunteer.

NZPA