JC Atkinson supplies coffins mainly to independent Funeral Directors. We supply over 600 companies varying from larger concerns to small traders. The final resting place for many of these coffins is council-owned crematoria and burial grounds.
Not only is it becoming increasingly popular to be “green” or “environmentally friendly” it is now considered to be a key commitment to good practice. Suppliers or contractors using public services are usually pre-approved to meet environmental standards, however no such standards are applied to the many hundreds of coffins used for cremation and burials up and down the country every day.
It is often taken on trust that coffins are manufactured to be fit for purpose, however it is surely evident given the Government’s sustainability policy, that the authorities have a responsibility to ensure the coffins which end up in their care be it for cremation or burial are made using only accredited sustainable or recycled wood materials.
At present the vast majority of coffins made are solid wood or a mixture of woods such as chipboard laminated with wood veneer. Of this majority, the highest percentage used are chipboard rather than solid wood due to the lower cost.
The type of wood used in coffins is not important – the crucial factor is where the wood originated. It is beneficial to the environment that the timber used is only from proven sustainable forests. Illegal lumber, and the deforestation it causes, destroys habitats, increases global green house gases and has a detrimental social and economic effect. As Britain is a net importer of wood, the role and influence the public sector has is great, not just in its own procurement. In this case the public sector’s area of influence should be extended to check that the coffins used in a local authority’s own crematoria and burial grounds are made from legal and sustainable wood.
One way this can be easily achieved is through a certification scheme such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The FSC is one of the most recognised schemes and works by accrediting and auditing participating companies, verifying that wood usage is from certified forests. In return the company is allowed to use the FSC labelling and trade mark (the ‘ticked oak’) on its product. This branding is normally used to positively influence the green consumer however if the trademark was added to the base of the coffin by the manufacture this would allow authentication.
We manufacture over 100 differing designs of coffin. These vary from a simple veneer coffin to more elaborate solid coffins with detailing to the sides and lid. All now are manufactured only using proven sustainable wood and are accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council.
In the future it is hoped these standards become the industry norm; however it is hoped by working with the public sector it too can play a leading role to ensure all coffins can be proven to be made from legitimate and accredited sustainable woods.