To die for: Rolls-Royce and 'green' coffins at British funerals

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2007

LONDON (AFP) — Coffins shaped like a Rolls-Royce, a guitar or a ballet shoe are booming in Britain, where the latest unusual trend in funerals is for "green" burials, kind to the environment.

Since 2000, Vic Fearn and Company have been making offbeat caskets which it markets under the title "Crazy Coffins". The firm recently expanded their range to include illustrated ones.

"We didn't invent anything, the demand came from the clients," said John Gill, head of the Nottingham, central England-based company, which has been in business for 130 years.

"Our first 'Crazy Coffin' was an airplane. Since then, we build one a month. We have lots of enquiries but it's quite expensive and building one takes some time," he told AFP.

Because of their dimensions,...