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FC NOW: The Fast Company Weblog

March 15, 2007

Going to a Greener Place

Death is taking on a whole new image. The grim reaper is ditching his black robe for a green one. Since we are, as the New York Times puts it, in the era of "An Inconvenient Truth," it seems only natural that even the death industry would be making efforts to do its part toward making the world more environmentally friendly.

A company called Eco Coffins, which has been around since 2004, is expanding to Hong Kong. The UK designer of environmenatlly friendly coffins now serves most of Europe and parts of Asia. The coffins are made of 90% recycled grid honeycomb cardboard and are 100% biodegradable. They come in all kinds of fun designs and can even be custom-made with your own special design.

Hong Kong's Health, Welfare and Food Bureau is heavily promoting the green innovation.

"In this regard, we seek the support of members of the funeral trade in embracing the development," said a spokesperson from Hong Kong. "We understand that changes to long-time practices take time to adjust. We believe shifting to the use of eco-friendly coffins is set to benefit the society at large, including the bereaved families."

So if you know someone who isn't looking to leave their mark on the planet after they are gone, check out EcoCoffins.com.