The absurd “my box came in a box” phenomenon is too damn high.
As we’re getting closer to having packaged tens of thousands of cremation urns for our patrons, the irony of each of those being a “box in a box” is not lost on us.
Although we use recycled/recylable boxes and filler for all of those products, the logical, environmentally responsible next step was to create a cremation urn that is its own shipping box.
Durability
Lock Miter
Double the surface area of a standard miter plus interlocking fingers (highlighted in white above) make this joint able support the weight of a truck.   Watch this guy risk his vision to prove it: https://youtu.be/DUrfQ0oSX4o?t=262
Waterproof Glue
Buried and with time, there will likely be four, weird ‘zigzaggy’ strips in the shape of the lock miter that last a bit longer than the pine. The BARE Cremation Urn isn’t water-tight but it will handle the outdoor elements in transit.
Water Resistant Wax
Most precipitation will bead on the surface of Bare as long as the urn is not subject to extended submersion. The water-resistant wax we use happens to be vegan.
Proof
We conducted prototype shipping experiments to determine if our initial premise was worth bringing into production.
Without Paper
This experiment provided a baseline for what type of additional protection might be needed. The squalor inside a mail truck is not what anyone wants their loved one’s urn arriving covered in.
WINNER!
Despite the kraft paper being perforated in a few places, this test resulted in a clean, nearly pristine delivery. Click on the photo gallery below to see that this prototype of BARE looks as good as when it left our production facility.
CERTIFIED
The Green Burial Council is one of the stewards of making Green Burial options available for more of us.
Their Three Leaf certification of the BARE Cremation Urn creates an additional level of irony within this product in that the durability we have engineered has to be entirely temporary!
Although one can certainly keep the BARE in a columbarium (the full size will only fit within a space of 12″) or on display, but the final destination and end result is intended to be earth.
Here’s how we have met the GBC’s requirements:
- FSC certified wood
- Glues that do not off-gas once cured
- Finish that is non-toxic in its production and use (also happens to be vegan)
- Finish that does not contain plastics, acrylics, or similar synthetic polymeric materials
- No metal hardware (the brass shipping screw is recyclable/reusable)
- Made from biodegradable materials
- Biodegradable packaging (no box, just paper wrapping)
- We’re exploring a carbon offset for our facility and shipping to further strengthen our certification, despite Three Leaf being the highest level
Made in Cleveland, Ohio
We are currently still boutique sized but growing. Presently, we are the only source for a cremation urn that is its own shipping box, but the notion and our design for it are secured under Creative Commons Licensing.