Next to supposedly green cars, green bikes and green TVs, here comes another idea from Japan: green death. Tokyo-based Tri-Wall [JP], a maker of packaging machines and materials, offers environmentally friendly coffins made of corrugated cardboard.

Tri-Wall says instead of using plywood, they use material from trees meeting the standards of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, a program based out of the USA to protect forests worldwide. The Tri-Wall coffins are three-layered, held together with natural glue. Compared to caskets made of plywood, the cardboard coffins need half of the wood and release one-third the amount of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide.

Tri-Wall is selling their e-coffins for prices between $1,100 and $1,400, which is actually more expensive than caskets made from conventional materials. However, the company managed to sell 2,000 units last year and even operates a dedicated web site to promote their idea (e-coffin.jp) [JP].

Via The Japan Times