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Ancient Koru printed casket beside the water with Rangitoto in the background

Three Ways to Say Goodbye

Premium Quality Caskets

Outside The Box Caskets come in three options: Plain Natural Kraft, Pre-Printed Designs, and Custom Caskets. All are NZ-made and available through funeral homes across the country, hand-assembled from engineered ecological board.

Custom design printed casket nz

Custom Caskets – One of a Kind Designs

Create a truly unique tribute with one-off custom printed lids made from your own photos, artwork, colours or themes. Each lid is designed especially for your loved one and completely unique.

tui printed designer cardboard casket

Printed Caskets:​ In-Stock Designs

A collection of in-stock printed casket lids, available in our natural kraft Original Printed Collection or the vibrant Bartells Collection. Choose from a range of designs to bring colour and personality to a farewell.

plain natural kraft casket

Plain Kraft Caskets

A simple natural kraft casket, ready to use as is or as a blank canvas for drawing, writing or personal decoration.

A Unique and Personal
Farewell

Printed designer cardboard coffin

Outside The Box Caskets was designed to look different from everything else on the market. The casket industry is dominated by timber and MDF, and caskets tend to all look the same. We wanted to do something both materially and aesthetically different, from the unique curved lid to beautiful printed designs. Every casket is made from natural, sustainable, and recyclable materials.

Some families choose a design that reflects who their person was, colour, imagery and personality. Others prefer a blank canvas to paint, write on, or decorate themselves.

Our caskets are a premium-quality product and have been designed to a very high standard. Outside The Box Caskets should not be confused with a cremation casket. Our caskets are specifically designed to be used for a funeral service and carried by pallbearers.

The saying "Just bury me in a cardboard box" is commonly heard by funeral directors, especially during pre-arrangements. Many people just don't want any fuss. Now, these requests can be honoured in a way that is both dignified and beautiful. We've designed a casket that's so much more than just a cardboard box.

We use a specially engineered board, developed specifically for our caskets, combining responsibly sourced virgin and recycled paper fibres. Many other cardboard caskets and coffins on the market use an MDF or plywood base, bleached or waxed cardboard, or contain thermoplastic glues, metal, and plastic parts, making them unsuitable for natural burial.

Outside The Box Caskets are manufactured without any plastic or metal components. Our casket handles are made from unbleached jute, a 100% natural and sustainable material.

Our materials are a combination of renewable, natural resources and post-consumer waste, using responsibly sourced virgin and recycled paper. Our kraft fibres make use of wood grades not suitable for timber milling, which would otherwise go to waste.

interior of an outside the box casket
Interior of eco cardboard casket with natural lining and fern detail

our caskets

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NZ Made & Designed

  • Proudly designed and made in New Zealand

  • Created by NZ designer Becs Bartells

  • Manufactured locally and hand-assembled

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Personalisable

  • Can be decorated with a variety of mediums (e.g acrylic paints, felt pens, crayons, pastels and pencils)

  • Add individual messages, memories, photographs, mementos or drawings

  • Can be painted, collaged, or wrapped​

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100% Biodegradable

  • Non toxic, no synthetics, nothing artificial, no plastic or metal parts

  • 100% biodegradable and compostable (meets strict Natural Burial requirements)

  • The first corrugated board casket to be certified in NZ by Natural Burials NZ.

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FSC Certified

  • ​All materials (recycled and virgin) are FSC certified

  • Ensures any new paper comes from sustainably managed forests, not deforestation

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From Recycled Materials

  • Contains a high percentage of recycled cardboard and paper

  • Helps keep materials in use and reduces waste going to landfill​​

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Lightweight

  • Up to 20kg lighter than a traditional casket

  • ​Easier to carry, handle, and transport

Outside The Box Caskets Ancient Koru design, a printed casket lid featuring a green koru pattern, displayed outdoors on grass near the beach.

Product Details

  • 6'3 x 23" x 14"

  • Simple and sleek modern aesthetic

  • Independently load tested to 320kg (recommended weight not exceeding 150kg)

  • Solid flat base

  • Self-locking 'click lock' lid mechanism

  • Handmade hessian grab handles

  • Dual-wall design with U-support structure

  • High-spec fluted board made from natural and sustainable materials, including recycled paper

  • Burns cleanly with minimal ash and lower emissions (tested at Purewa Crematorium, Auckland, Nov 2019)

  • Cremates 10–15 minutes faster than a solid wood casket, reducing gas use and emissions

  • No plastic or metal parts, meaning clean combustion and easier ash processing

Frequently Asked Questions

Preview of the Outside The Box printed casket guide, showing a grid of printed casket designs

Download a printable overview of our printed casket designs to share with family or show your funeral director.

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