Yes folks, cardboard coffins.  This isn’t some kind of joke, nor is it meant as any kind of insult to the dead.  Don’t think it is necessarily for the poor, either – in fact, the opposite can be true.   Those who are educated and thinking about the end are more increasingly opting for natural, bio-degradable solutions, and the cardboard casket can fit the bill.

There are many lovely examples of folks who hosted a home funeral (the viewing or wake at home), with a cardboard casket the family together decorated with drawings, illustrations, and even photos.  There are instances of this in random funeral homes, as well.   If you think about it, while it may seem initially ‘cheap’ and shocking, at the end of the day, it is actually a really sweet idea.   One would suspect, too, that helping adorn the casket of your loved one may well help one through a bit of the grieving process, while creating a sense of connection to your lost loved one as you ready them for the final send-off.  Too, it can be a bonding event between relatives working together to do so (then again, depending on your family dynamic, the inverse is also admittedly true…but then again, were that the case, it is likely to be so no matter what products you use).

You can also opt for fancier ones, rather than the decorate-it-yourself option.   The options are pretty extensive.  Some of them claim to hold up to 300lbs in weight, too, so they can be somewhat sturdy.

Were you interested in a more green approach, you can order cardboard caskets online, and your funeral home must allow you to use it (though they may not be happy about it)- google away!

Remember – options, options, options, folks!  The more you talk about this now, the less likely you will be taken advantage of later when in a state of grief.

The image above is, I believe, the Eternity Eco-Friendly Cardboard Casket.