About us

We provide Eco friendly Coffins and Caskets 

We started The Green Coffin Company as we wanted to provide affordable and environmentally-friendly coffins and caskets with a site that was easy to use and navigate.

Our goal was to provide an online store that sells a large range of Eco-friendly coffins and caskets, is easy to use and navigate and provides detailed information to enable our customers to make an informed choice.  We welcome feedback as we are always looking to improve the site and add more products and options. 

We are passionate about the environment, so we run our business according to a core set of principles. 

Environment

All the products we sell are 100% natural and biodegradable and have no nails, screws or staples.

All the materials have been carefully chosen for their sustainability as well as low impact during harvesting.

We don't sell Seagrass coffins as harvesting this aquatic plant destroys the habitat for many fish and has the important job of soaking up carbon dioxide from the seafloor, locking it away indefinitely. Seagrass is therefore an incredibly important plant which needs to be conserved. Pandanus, on the other hand, which we sell, is a prolific and rapidly growing weed which thrives anywhere on land, even in adverse conditions. When woven it is almost indistinguishable from Seagrass.

The cardboard products are made from cartonboard materials produced from unbleached pulp containing a minimum of 70% recycled paper, plus wood pulp sourced from sustainable forests. Only natural starch-based glues are used, no other fixings, and the handles are made from natural woven cotton.

The bespoke painted coffins are only painted in water-based, environmentally friendly paints.

What is an eco-funeral and why does it matter?

In its purest sense, an eco or green burial -- also called a natural burial -- entails wrapping an un-embalmed body in a biodegradable shroud, placing it in a eco-friendly coffin and burying the body in a manner that creates the least impact on the environment. Sometimes traditional standing headstones are not used and instead wooden signs, flat rocks, plants or trees may serve as grave markers.

Eco funerals are a way of caring for the dead with minimal environmental impact that furthers legitimate ecological aims such as the conservation of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions, protection of worker health, and the restoration and/or preservation of habitat.

Burials and cremations can both have an impact on the environment, using resources and energy. Traditional Coffins are often made using formaldehyde, may be made of wood from unsustainable sources and transported over long distances; additionally, metal and plastic fittings do not biodegrade. Choosing a coffin made from a sustainable source will help protect the environment, as will choosing an eco-friendly material such as wicker, bamboo or cardboard.

Cremation is very energy-intensive and can lead to pollutants entering the atmosphere, but with over 70% of people who die in Britain being cremated, even making small changes to the coffin and shroud will help reduce emissions.

If you are looking for help, support, advice or guidance planning a funeral, either for yourself or for someone close to you, the Natural Death Centre can help www.naturaldeath.org.uk.