Furniture-coffin

From Bookshelf to Coffin: Sustainable Furniture

“ People purchase a new coffin for cremation, which is a waste of resources......(We hope) people can have a set of environmentally friendly bookshelves that literally last a lifetime, and then accompany them for the funeral rituals "

Coffins represent different values, religious backgrounds, and stories across different cultures and customs, which make the burial process more meaningful. However, purchasing a new coffin for cremation could be a waste of resources. Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI) is collaborating with Forget Thee Not, a social enterprise promoting green burial and funerals, to design furniture that can be conveniently reassembled into coffins. The team aims to add a personal and heartfelt touch to honor the deceased, and the coffins are also more ecologically sustainable and cost-effective than the traditional funeral and burial process.

• As the first prototype, LEI designed a bookshelf to house ornaments, books, and documents, which can easily be converted into a coffin.

• The coffins are made of sustainable, high-quality birch and spruce plywood from northern European forests, and fulfill strict requirements for wood-based materials in terms of environmental friendliness, strength, and durability.

• The project also encourages end-of-life pre-planning within the family to achieve the goal of a good death and to promote inter-generational harmony.

Looking Forward

•  The team is planning to organize public education events and workshops to promote coffins as furniture and planning for end-of-life care.

Media Coverage

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