Funerals can potentially have a significant impact on the environment, and a lot of people are looking for more eco-friendly options. According to a recent report by the National Funeral Directors Association, 60.5% of survey respondents showed interest in greener choices, such as human composting, natural burials, and resomation (water cremation). Around 29% of individuals from the UK would also prefer alternative committal methods if they were available, according to YouGov research.
Sophia Campbell Shaw, founder of Woven Farewell Coffins in the UK, is one of the country’s ten weavers who make willow coffins, and is committed to popularising more environmentally friendly options. She explained that the funeral sector is one of the most polluting, as one cremation emits as much CO2 into the atmosphere as a 500-mile car trip. Traditional burials aren’t much better as 800,000 gallons of formaldehyde is placed in the ground every year in the USA alone in the form of embalming fluids, alongside other materials like plastics, caustic glue, and metal that are a part of many coffins.
Campbell Shaw has come up with a few solutions. In Spring 2022, she began offering her customers the option to rent rather than buy a casket to reduce the carbon footprint of her coffins maximally. Her intention was to establish the concept of a rental coffin as a mainstream approach to minimise the environmental impact of funerals. Her standard willow coffins are made of fully biodegradable materials that will turn into compost. She has also made a rental casket of biodegradable materials under her latest eco-friendly company scheme. This flatpack design is constructed from a series of panels, allowing funeral directors to build and reassemble them easily. After use, the casket is sanitised and either returned to the proprietor or deposited for formal recycling until the end of its lease.
A rental coffin is still considered taboo in the UK as some funeral directors are reluctant to recommend it, which can be a cultural and emotional challenge for many people. Campbell Shaw believes that a rental coffin is a practical concept that should be embraced since it addresses a person’s desire for a budget-friendly and eco-friendly funeral, without compromising respect for the deceased person. The price of purchasing one of her handcrafted willow caskets ranges from £650-£800, while renting one of her willow caskets along with a casket cover costs £200 but excludes delivery costs. Campbell Shaw believes that coffin rentals are one way to show people that funerals don’t need to be expensive or complicated, stating that “you can honour the person you’ve lost in a simple way.
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