It's not enough to live sustainably - now you can have a environmentally-friendly afterlife too.

Recycled cardboard coffins are being offered as a cheap, green alternative to wooden caskets.

They're made from 85 percent recycled material and are just as strong as wood.

Ponsonby funeral director Chris Foote says cardboard has been available for at least five years.

But the new designs are stronger and more like real caskets, she says.

"They're very easy to handle and take a huge capacity of weight.

"The only time they don't work very well is if they get very wet," she says.

The recycled card and paper coffins don't contain lacquer, and don't release toxic chemicals when burned or buried.

Henderson company Sovereign Industries, who brought the Enviroboard coffin to New Zealand, say it's structurally as strong as timber.

It's also cheaper than a traditional wooden coffin.

"Most people take the cardboard option simply because it costs a bit less," Ms Foote says.

"There's a lot of movement towards that even if you're not thinking green."

Some families choose to rest the cardboard inside a traditional casket at the funeral.

But others personalise their loved one's final resting place by drawing or painting on the coffin.

"It's very much personal choice, and it depends on the person who has died," Ms Foote says.

Her business, the Natural Funeral Company, also offers wicker and bamboo coffins, which are imported from Thailand.

They're about double the price of a recycled card option.

Enviroboard coffins are available in a woodgrain finish or with a personalised screenprinted design.

Sovereign Industries director Allan Court says a personal casket can change the atmosphere of a funeral.

"In choosing or creating a design, or painting memories and messages, they begin to talk about the full life the person lived, rather than just the sadness of their passing," Mr Court says.

The article above was found on Google and was published originally on STUFF.co.nz