Woollen coffins, made using 100 per cent British wool and bearing the British Wool Mark, have been launched by two British companies, creating a product which is biodegradable and supports UK manufacturing. The coffins, made from pure new wool and supported on a recycled cardboard frame, will be made by long-established textile company Hainsworth at its Leeds mill and distributed by north-east-based JC Atkinson, the UK's largest manufacturer and distributor of coffins.

The coffins are believed to be the first to be made in the UK using wool. However, a previous link between wool and hard economic times can be traced back to the Burial in Wool Act of 1667. This made burial in woollen shrouds a legal requirement in an attempt to boost the woollen industry. Today, the impetus for using wool in coffins has come partly from the desire to meet increasing interest in burials and cremations which are environmentally sustainable.