The Country Range | Oasis CoffinsThe Country Range from J C Atkinson

The Fair Trade Choice

The Country Range offers a selection of coffins

which are made using sustainable materials, are

readily biodegradable and are suitable for all types

of natural or traditional burial and have also been

tested for their suitability and are accepted for

cremation.

This range of products has a low Global Warming

Potential (GWP) carbon footprint and offers a social

and ethical benefit, be it to a community involved

with their manufacture or through our donations to

Groundwork UK and our tree tribute initiative.

The Country Range products encompasses all

these values and offers a range of styles to suite all

tastes, by choosing from this range you have made

a positive difference to the environment and left a

social benefit.

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The Country Range of alternative coffins are supplied by J C Atkinson, a UK based award winning company known for high environmental standards and manufacturing innovation.

The Country Range from J C Atkinson The Country Range | Oasis Coffins

Fair Trade Bamboo Ashes CasketA natural styled Bamboo ashes casket designed to complement the Natural Bamboo coffin.

Oasis Coffins

Representatives from Traidcraft, the UK’s largest Fair Trade organisation

have conducted a rigorous assessment of the business on location in

Bangladesh, and are pleased to endorse all of the coffins and urns

produced by Oasis as Fair Trade. Ongoing assessments will be made

to ensure that these high standards are maintained. Locally, Oasis is an

active member of the Fair Trade Forum in Bangladesh.

The Oasis Coffins enterprise has been established in Nilphamari district, Bangladesh. This

area is 500km north of the capital city Dhaka, and suffers from extreme poverty. Oasis is committed

to the Ten Principles of Fair Trade agreed by the World Fair Trade Organisation.

Fair Trade BambooA traditionally shaped bamboo coffin which is tasteful and naturally beautiful. Can be interwoven with flowers and foliage too.

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“Our assessment shows that Oasis has fully embraced the ten principles of Fair Trade in its policies and working practices. We’re delighted to see that Oasis is making such a practical and positive social impact in a region of real poverty. This is a strong example of Fair Trade helping to transform lives and providing hope through the opportunities offered.” Larry Bush, Marketing Director, Traidcraft

Our bamboo has been sourced from locally grown bamboo plants, which have been sustainably managed

and harvested in Bangladesh according to best practice. We work in partnership with a local Bangladeshi

charity called Supoth, and work directly with 40 producers from rural communities in which Supoth are

engaged. We ensure that fair prices are paid, and that we have relationships with all of our suppliers.

The Country Range from J C Atkinson The Country Range | Oasis Coffins

Fair TradeTraditional WillowHand-woven on a bamboo frame,this willow (wicker) coffin has a more traditional shape and comes with an engraved wooden nameplate. Available in Chestnut and Natural Willow.

Fair Trade Willow Ashes CasketA natural styled willow ashes casket designed to complement the Willow coffins. The casket is available in Chestnut and Natural Willow.

Fair Trade Oval WillowHand-woven on a bamboo frame, this willow coffin has a rounded end casket shape and comes with an engraved wooden nameplate. Available in Chestnut and Natural Willow.

Willow canes are from a fast growing trees, coppice grown

on a two to three year cycle. The canes are sustainable and benefit

the local ecology and the environment in general. The willow used

in our coffins is sourced from managed and known sources from the

“willow town” of Linyi in the Shandong province of China.

Chestnut Willow is harvested and boiled to remove the bark.

The tannin in the bark dyes the willow wood “chestnut” brown.

The Natural Willow is harvested the same way, but is treated to

remove the tannin, restoring the pale natural off white colour of the

cane.

The willow is hand-woven in Bangladesh, piece-by-piece onto a

frame made from locally sourced bamboo.

Natural Willow

Chestnut Willow

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The Country Range from J C Atkinson The Country Range | Oasis Coffins

Fair Trade Seagrass Ashes CasketA natural styled Seagrass ashes casket designed to complement the Seagrass Oval Coffin.

Fair Trade Seagrass OvalA freshwater plant, grown in abundance in the Noakhali district of Bangladesh. Sun dried and spun, it is woven onto a bamboo frame to form the Seagrass Coffin.

Seagrass is actually a freshwater

plant, known locally as “Hogla”. Hogla grows

abundantly along the banks of freshwater rivers

and flood prone land and is available from

managed resources in the Noakhali district of

Bangladesh. Local producers harvest the grass

twice a year, dry it and spin it into long pieces,

often more than 20m in length.

As the Hogla dries its colour subtly changes

from a green to a rich reddish brown. There is

a rich tradition in Bangladesh of making woven

products from this beautifully coloured material.

The material is woven in Bangladesh onto a

locally sourced Bamboo frame to produce a

distinctively beautiful product.

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The Country Range from J C Atkinson

Salma’s StoryBefore joining Oasis, Salma* worked

as house maid. Her husband couldn’t

support the family either due to the

irregular income as a labourer paid on

a daily basis. They did not have proper

home, and lived in a very basic bamboo

hut with a thin polythene roof. Their hut was often blown

away by storms during the monsoon season.

She joined Oasis Coffins in 2009 as a tailor, with

responsibility for stitching coffin linings. She started to save

some money each month and was then able to take a small

loan from a local charity, through which she bought a small

piece of land. She has now paid off the loan and has been

able to build her own home! She is now planning to take a

fresh loan to buy land for her husband to cultivate.

With increased stability in her family, both her 12 year old

and 9 year old sons have been able to go to school. She has

also learnt a range of other skills in the coffin manufacturing

process.

Oasis Coffins now employs 80 people, many of whom have

similar stories. Our Fair Trade endorsement buy Traidcraft

affirms our commitment to excellent working conditions, fair

wages, and care for the environment.

* [Photograph and name have been changed to preserve anonymity]

© 2014 J C Atkinson Ltd.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a non profit, nongovernmental organisation based in Germany. The

on product label indicates that the goods are certified by the FSC standard. FSC develops supports and

promotes international national and regional standards in line with its mission: evaluates, accredits and

monitors certification bodies which verify the use of FSC standards and provides training and information. For

further information visit www.fsc.org

Traidcraft the UK’s largest Fair Trade organisation have conducted rigorous assessments of many of the products

contained within thw Country Range and where the Fair Trade logo appears alongside a product they have

endorsed those products as Fair Trade.

For every ‘Country Range’ coffin we sell, a £5.00

donation is made to the national environmental charity

Groundwork, an organisation who will install energy

For every coffin we sell with this emblem we will plant a high quality deciduous sapling tree. For more information

visit www.coffins.co.uk

reducing equipment in the homes of the elderly and those in receipt of benefit. It has been calculated that the

carbon used in the coffins manufacture will be re balanced by means of energy reduction over a 1 to 2 year period.

J C Atkinson are bearers of the Carbon Trust Standard, awarded for their year on year reduction of C02. The

Carbon Trust is a not-for-profit company with the mission to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy.

The Carbon Trust provides business and the public sector with expert advice, finance and accreditation and

stimulates demand for low carbon products and services. For further information visit www.carbontrust.co.uk

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