Green Till the End

Germany-based design firm Uono has discovered a way to make a casket both green and...stylish? (for lack of a better word). Environmentally-friendly handmade Cocoon, composed of rapidly-renewable untreated jute and natural resin, sports a “new, timeless shape and an overall look free of the associations of the typical rectilinear casket,” according to the firm’s Web site. It is also significantly lighter than traditional designs, insuring an easier journey into the ground. This high-gloss, podlike departure from standard fare has blasted into the market. The firm recently received a Silver Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) from the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and Business Week magazine. Read more on organic burial here, here, and here. ::Uono via ::Industrial Designers Society of America