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14.09.2009 - From Funeral Shows to Agricultural Shows

Funeral Service Journal - September 2009

The 225-year-old family textile business of A W Hainsworth & Sons Ltd launched cotton and woollen coffins on the J C Atkinson & Son Ltd stand at the National Funeral Exhibition in June this year after offering a preview to delegates at the conference of the British Institute of Embalmers a couple months earlier.  Feedback from funeral directors and natural burial grounds has been very positive because of the tactile nature of the product, its strength (tested up to 42 stones) and obvious environmental credentials.  A number of orders were immediately taken on the stand.

Since Hainsworth’s appearance at the NFE, where a pair of fine Dorset sheep were on hand to add authenticity, the company has exhibited a woollen coffin at a number of agricultural shows, including the Royal Show back at Stoneleigh, to support the British wool trade.  Sheep farmer and National Farmers Union member David Eglin, who brought the Dorsets to the NFE, is enthusiastic about this additional use of wool where the current cost of shearing is more than the fleece itself.  Inevitably the media have shown a great deal of interest and the company has featured in press and on regional television.

Hainsworths, producers of military uniforms, protective clothing and cloth for snooker tables, are committed to supporting home grown wool and all purchases are through the British Wool Marketing Board. The company is about to launch a children’s range of coffins and will also offer outsize versions to compliment the existing four-size stock.  Regional variations in the coffins are being considered after enquiries from Shetland to produce something unique for Scotland. Cremated remains containers are available to compliment the coffins and are also proving popular. Distribution of all Hainsworth funeral products is through J C Atkinson.

Environmentally friendly coffins appear to be a recent development but supporting the wool industry in the reign of Charles II prompted the ‘Burial in Wool Act 1667’ which decreed that all bodies should be buried in wool (except plague victims). This type of coffin might be new to funeral directing, but it is also very traditional.