Why you should plan your funeral in advance
 
Whatever your age, any time is a good time to plan your funeral… except at the time of the funeral. Can you imagine planning a wedding in just a few days, or any celebration for that matter? So, why would you leave the ultimate celebration of your life to the last minute?

We don’t know what the future holds. But we can be certain of one thing – none of us are promised tomorrow and denying the reality of death doesn’t make it less true. In many ways, the most loving thing we can do is take care of as much as possible in advance. The future may be uncertain, but by planning ahead, you can make a difference in the lives of your loved ones.

1.     You’ll reduce family stress

If your wishes are unknown when you die, they will be faced with making difficult decisions at a trying time. Will they know if you wish to be buried or cremated? Will they agree on an open or closed casket? Will they agree on how much to spend? Confusion and disagreements are common occurrences when there is no plan to follow. The more of your funeral that you plan out in advance, the easier it will be for your family to execute on your instructions and wishes. Instead of calling funeral homes and comparing caskets, they’ll be able to focus their time on supporting each other. Taking care of your funeral arrangements is a thoughtful and caring thing to do for your family. It is comforting to know that you have done all you can do to ease their burden.
 
2. You’ll help ensure your wishes are met

Many people have ideas about what they would like done surrounding their death. Whether you feel that a burial is important for religious reasons or you’d prefer a lively celebration of your life over a sombre affair, planning your funeral in advance will help ensure that the things you find most important will happen. It also gives you a chance to inject some of your personality into the event and reflect on how you’ll be remembered.


3. You’ll help prevent family conflict
 
If you pass away unexpectedly and you haven’t outlined your funeral wishes, your family will be left to guess what you would have wanted. If two family members disagree, that can lead to a lot of unnecessary tension in the funeral planning process. Even if you’re certain you’ve mentioned to your family that you’d prefer cremation over a burial or the type of casket you’d like, grief can cloud memory, so the more you can record, the better. This also holds true for smaller funeral decisions, such as the songs you would want played. Each decision that you make (and record) in advance, is one fewer decision that your family members will need to make and one fewer opportunity for family tension.
 
4. Planning Can Save You Money

It’s quite common for families to overspend when a loved one dies. Often, the family wants “only the best” for their loved one or their financial decisions are clouded by grief. This is why it’s a good idea to plan ahead. You make financial decisions with a clear, rational mind rather than one affected by emotional strain. In this way, you can control the ending budget for the cost of your funeral. By doing this, you can save your family money in the long run.
 
Below are links to free information and downloadable guides to End Of Life Planning in New Zealand.

Health Quality and Safety Commission of New Zealand
https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/our-programmes/advance-care-planning/information-for-consumers/resource-overview/

End Of Life Services New Zealand
https://endoflife.services.govt.nz/create-my-plan#phase-582​

New Zealand Seniors
https://www.nzseniors.co.nz/funeral-insurance/discover/planning-funeral-first-steps

Closed or open casket, we get one last chance to leave a lasting impression, but will that casket really reflect you and what you cared about?

Caskets are an essential part of a funeral arrangement, but why do they all have to look the same? A personal touch really does say so much.

Caskets have traditionally only been available in quite standardised designs and colour palettes with little or no option to personally customise. However, increasingly, families are moving away from these traditional style coffins and opting for more colourful and completely personalised options.

Personalised caskets are a reasonably new concept and have been trending in popularity over the recent years. A personalised casket allows you to create a final tribute for your loved one for the last time. A personalised casket can help you pay your respects to your loved one, uniquely and creatively.

A casket is an essential element to a funeral and it can create a lot of emotion when it is seen. A personalised casket has a gentler and less confronting aesthetic compared to traditional timber veneer coffins. For this reason alone, it is easy to understand why a personalised casket can be a more meaningful choice for a funeral arrangement

​How Can You Customise a Personalised Casket?

A personalised casket is usually presented blank with the ability for family members and friends to customise it according to their loved ones personal preferences.

Cardboard Caskets are an excellent choice for this as they are essentially a blank canvas for those to honour their loved one in their own special way. It’s entirely up to you with how creative you want to be, the options are endless.

There are lots of different mediums to personalise a cardboard casket, such as  paints, crayons, and markers and making drawings on the casket. Some people paste images (using non toxic glue) of their loved ones on the casket to remember the wonderful times they spent together. You can also include special written messages from friends and family.

-  Photographs
-  Hand written messages of love, memories or quotes
-  Hobbies and activities
-  Favourite animals and pets
-  Landscapes
-  Sports teams
-  National identity (flags)
-  Beautiful natural Landscapes – click to see Outside The  Box Caskets Nature Eco Lid Designs

​Why Do People Opt For a Personalised Casket?

Creates Memories
A personalised casket allows family and friends to create memories for the last time. Expressing their own grief for the deceased can be very healing and cathartic in helping family members through the grieving process.
 
Adds Value
Your loved one who has passed away might not be there to witness the funeral, but you will be at peace knowing that you did something special for them. A personalised casket adds significant value to a funeral and makes the final send-off special and heartwarming. Imagine how you would feel if you were given a funeral that included a personalised coffin instead of a plain, old brown coffin? What would you rather? 

A Personalised Casket for Your Loved One

Want to create a lasting impression after the passing away of a loved one? Do you want the casket to speak volumes about how much you loved them and how much they will be missed.

At Outside the Box Caskets, we cater to personalised caskets at the request of our customers. We offer eco caskets that can be personalised according to your wishes and requirements. By choosing our DIY Kraft cardboard eco casket, you can create a unique design of your own. You can add photos, quotes, drawings, and other decorations and anything else you want. Our cardboard eco caskets are 100% biodegradable, so you don’t need to worry about harming our ecosystem.

Alternatively if you are stuck choosing something, there is our Nature Eco Lid Designs that are perfect for anyone who has an appreciation for the natural world that surrounds us. Choose from 6 nature inspired designs, from a picturesque New Zealand coastline to forest ferns or pohutukawa blossoms. The designs are printed directly onto the casket lid using 100% eco-friendly UV inks, ensuring you can add  colour to your casket without the impact on the environment. 

Maybe you are contemplating a green burial and are considering a cardboard casket as part of your funeral arrangement? Though, are you equipped with the right information around why these types of eco coffins are a better choice?

Eco caskets or cardboard coffins are still seen as quite unconventional, but more recently people have been making more eco conscious decisions and wanting a greener alternative to the more traditional type of funeral arrangements.

Read on to find out more about cardboard caskets and why they should be regarded as a greener choice.

What is a Cardboard Eco Casket?

​A cardboard casket or coffin is a container in which the body of a deceased loved one is buried or cremated. Unlike a traditional casket, a cardboard coffin is made from corrugated cardboard or sometimes a type of honeycomb.  Corrugated cardboard has been around since the 1800’s and today it is one of the world’s most widely used and available materials. With constant advancements in its performance qualities, cardboard is the ideal material to manufacture an eco coffin or casket.
​
 1.     Cardboard Caskets Are Environment Friendly
 A cardboard casket can definitely be seen as more environmentally friendly compared to wood or metal caskets. Made from recycled and biodegradable materials, it is the ideal choice for a green burial or an eco-friendly funeral. A cardboard casket contributes to saving the environment by producing less carbon emissions and contributes to less deforestation. It quickly decomposes into the soil and is also 100% biodegradable. Better Meets Reality indicated that cardboard generally breaks down within 2 months in comparison to wooden caskets that can take up to 10-15 years. This timeframe is obviously dependent on different factors that might influence how quickly materials break down in varying conditions.
 
2.     Cardboard Caskets Are Strong And Durable
You might think that cardboard is an unreliable or weaker choice of material especially for a casket. You will be surprised to know that cardboard caskets are strong, with different load bearing capabilities, which range from 100 – 240kg, and an Outside The Box Cardboard Casket​ has been tested to an impressive 320kg! A cardboard casket is also easy to lift and can be shipped off flat pack which makes it more economical anywhere you may require it to go. Not to mention, a cardboard coffin is lightweight, making it easy to handle.

3.     Cardboard Caskets Are Suitable For Funerals
A cardboard casket is a suitable option for both burials and cremations. It is widely accepted with most funeral directors, burial sites and crematoriums.
During a cremation, a cardboard casket contains fewer toxic substances that are released within this process. Compared to other caskets, a cardboard coffin cremates faster, requiring less fuel use and is therefore responsible for fewer carbon emissions.
​
Are You in Search of a Cardboard Casket?

Are you planning a green burial or eco-friendly funeral for a loved one and would like to select an option that doesn't impact negatively on the environment?
At Outside the Box Caskets, we only deal in eco-friendly cardboard caskets for burial and cremation ceremonies. Our eco caskets are designed with the environment in mind and are made from all natural, sustainable and recyclable materials. To enquire about our cardboard caskets for whatever service you are planning for, you can reach out to us through our website at www.outsidetheboxcaskets.nz.

Are you a nature lover and consciously think of ways to minimise your personal impact on the environment? Do you feel that it’s essential to give back to the world, especially after you have gained so many benefits from it? 

With more and more people trying to live eco-friendly, green and sustainable lifestyles, many of us are also considering the impact we can have on the environment when we die. 

You may not have really thought too much about it till now, but trees take 28-30 years to grow and are the main material used to make timber caskets which are then only buried or cremated. Seems like such a waste of natural resources and cost. 

The good news is that there are now alternative options such as cardboard caskets and coffins that you can choose from rather than a traditional casket made from timber or MDF. 

A green study from Southern Cross University found that making greener choices led to deeper levels of life satisfaction and positive outlook on life compared to those that didn’t. So, just like recycling, reducing single-use plastics or reusing reusable bags for shopping, nominating something eco friendly in your final wishes seems like a natural fit. 72% of those in the study also hoped to leave a better planet for their children which make all of these choices even more motivating when it comes to protecting our environment. 

Any funeral arrangement, whether it be a burial or cremation will carry some environmental impact or footprint but it’s important to understand how you can make alternative choices to minimise that impact when it comes to your final send off. 

What are Green Burials? 
Also known as eco burial or natural burial, green burials are environmentally friendly and focus on more simple, eco-friendly funerals for the dead. 
We know people are becoming increasingly concerned about the environment, which has also contributed to a return to more eco-friendly green burials methods. Did you know that according to the Natural Funeral Directors Association​, they have seen a resurgence in green burials globally in recent years, with many indicating they would consider having one instead of a more traditional funeral arrangement.
 
What makes Green Burials the best choice? 
The phrase “Leave it better than you found it,” isn’t always easy to follow when it comes to burials. As our society works to establish sustainable lifestyles, more and more people are turning toward green burials. Green burials have little to no environmental impact and can actually restore natural resources and habitats. 

Their sustainability comes from the use of nontoxic and biodegradable materials such as eco caskets that are often made from cardboard. Caring for the dead in an environmentally friendly way is both natural and rewarding. Some of the benefits of green burials include; 

1. Lower costs 
When people opt for green burials, they don’t have to worry about having an extravagant, lavish burial. Green burials are simple and do not involve embalming, cremation, and fancy caskets. Instead, they include an eco casket, often a cardboard casket which is 100% biodegradable and leaves no trace. 

2. Helps protect natural resources 
If you have a love for nature in your heart and want to rest peacefully in a green place full of flowers and shrubs, then you should consider a green burial. Green burials are a wonderful way through which you can limit the use of natural resources and preserve natural landscapes. 

3. Helps eliminate the use of chemicals 
As the embalming process is quite popular in traditional burials, green burials help avoid this. This is a good step for the environment as the embalming process includes the use of many chemicals which might be harmful. Many workers also get exposed to this chemical which can also be dangerous for their health. 

How to make your funeral greener? 
To make your funeral greener, you can simply opt for an eco coffin as part of your service. These types of eco-friendly caskets have minimal impact on the environment compared to traditional timber coffins or MDF caskets. This means they are made from natural and sustainable materials that are ethically sourced and avoid use of chemicals in their production, meaning they biodegrade naturally into the earth.

Outside The Box cardboard caskets NZ are made from 100% natural, sustainable and recyclable materials, so they’re great options for those wanting a certified, greener choice when compared to traditional caskets or coffins. For something a bit more special, these caskets can even be personalised to truly honour your loved one.

If your final wish is to go green, the first step is to make sure you have these instructions noted in your living will in relation to your funeral arrangement preferences. Here you can note your wishes if you want an eco casket, green burial or any other personal desires that you want your family to carry out for you. Additionally, to noting this in your will, it is always important to let your family know of these wishes.

If you’re looking for a New Zealand Funeral Director to buy a locally made eco casket or cardboard coffin, then you should visit www.outsidetheboxcaskets.nz for more information.

​Contact us directly if you have any queries about our casket products or to find a stockist near you.