Necessity making room for some casket changes in Hong Kong

April 8, 2022/Products/

It is often said that “necessity is the mother of invention”. This article from Manufacturing Business Technology shows us that is the case in Hong Kong at this time as a recent surge in Covid-19 deaths has created a shortage of coffins in the city.

The article states that “Hong Kong has reported about 200 deaths daily on average over the past week . . .. The surge has put a strain on mortuaries, and refrigerated containers are being used to temporarily store bodies.” It has also created a shortage of caskets and in an answer to that problem some companies are offering alternatives such as environmentally friendly cardboard caskets.

On such company seeing an increase in sales is LifeArt Asia that produces caskets made of recycled wood fiber and can be customized with designs on the exterior. Somewhat different from the traditional wood caskets used in Hong Kong, LifeArt Asia is producing about 50 caskets per day to ease the casket shortage.

According to the article one positive of using the non-traditional cardboard caskets is that when cremated (the most popular choice of disposition in Hong Kong) the LifeArt caskets emit 87% less greenhouse gas compared to those made of wood or wood substitutes. And, each casket weighs only 23 pounds but can structurally hold up to 441 pounds.

Funeral Director Daily did an article on LifeArt caskets a couple of years ago. It now appears that the caskets are growing in popularity and can be obtained in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Great Britain. All LifeArt caskets/coffins are advertised as being suitable for earth burial or cremation.

To let you familiarize yourself with the product here is the Australian website for LifeArt where you can see the personalization elements.

You can also see a one-minute video here to more familiarize yourself with LifeArt coffins and caskets.

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