All You Need to Know About Cremation Caskets: How to Buy a Casket

Anita Chauhan

In order to be cremated, a body must be placed in the cremation chamber in a sturdy and fully combustible container. This rigid container may be chosen based on personal preferences or utility, but it can take the form of a traditional casket to even a simple, dignified cardboard box. The only consideration is that any container that is used must not have any metal parts.

This is why choosing a cremation casket is an essential consideration for planning a cremation.

When choosing the right cremation casket, you must consider a few things. In this blog post, we go through what you need to know and easy ways to have your end of life wishes fulfilled when choosing cremation.

Funerals and Wakes or Celebrations of Life before the Cremation

If you want to hold a traditional funeral service before cremating the body of a recently deceased individual, you may be interested in purchasing a traditional casket for the service or celebration. This casket can serve as the cremation container, but you must ensure that it does not have any metal attached. The casket should ideally be any of the following:

• Wood
• Cloth-covered wood
• An alternative material such as bamboo or wicker.

Depending on budgets or desires, many people may choose to purchase something more bare-bones than a traditional burial casket. If you are one of those people and do not want to purchase an expensive casket for the celebration or service, there are options such as renting a casket. If you choose this route, the body will be in the casket for the funeral service but will be transferred into a simple cardboard container, also known as an alternative container.
Depending on your needs, some funeral homes may offer rent out caskets.

Going Green: Eco-friendly Caskets As Cremation Caskets

Going green is easy when you are cremating. Most eco-friendly caskets are perfectly safe to put through the cremation process. Most ‘green’ caskets are made of natural materials, including wicker, cotton, teak, bamboo and other environmentally-friendly materials.

And there are recycled cardboard containers that are made to look like traditional caskets, which serve as a more accessible and cost-friendly alternative to buying or renting a traditional casket.

Crematory-Provided Containers

If you are not interested in purchasing a casket, you have the option of an alternative container specifically designed to house the body before cremation. These tend to be in the form of a cardboard box. Sometimes there's a cardboard box/wood tray bottom for this depending on the weight of the deceased.

Cremation Casket Costs

Depending on the casket you choose, costs can vary. Other considerations for which casket to purchase depends on if you are having a service or not; if you select a standard service, you may opt for an all-wood traditional casket for the service and use that for the cremation as well.

You may also choose to rent a casket from a funeral home or provider and use an alternative container for the cremation, saving you money in the long run.

It’s up to you

There are a lot of choices to make when choosing end-of-life arrangements for your loved ones. While there are a lot of differing opinions on what is best, the choice is ultimately up to you. And while it may be tough to choose, with the right information and the ideal service to help you along the process, you can make a tough situation a little bit easier.

Contact Eirene to help start the process. Our dedicated care team is with you every step of the way to help you with everything you need.