Taiwan inventor Chang Chi-wei was upset when he saw undertakers hurl the body of a friend into an incinerator during a funeral in China's Guangxi Province three years ago.
But the episode sparked an idea -- an environmentally friendly, cheap and easy-to-assemble coffin made from recycled paper.
Burials are not allowed in crowded Chinese cities due to land shortages, and environmental reasons dictate that cremations are done without coffins, typically made of hard wood.
"I thought the cremation was very coarse and not dignified for the dead person, but if we can have an environmentally friendly coffin, how much nicer it would be," Chang said.
Chang was among 600 inventors at the four-day International Invention Expo which began in Hong Kong yesterday.
Soft-spoken and slightly built, the pro-environment inventor lays claim to a string of creations, including an environmentally friendly industrial waste incinerator and a camping cot that doesn't flip over in the middle of the night.
"A hardwood tree that's 50 years old would be needed for four or five coffins, but precious wood should be used in better ways than just burning or burying in the ground," said Chang, 47.
He set about designing his own brand of coffin soon after his friend's funeral and it went into production in Hualien about a year and a half ago.
The simplest, no-fuss coffin weighs just 6kg and costs about NT$770, while a more ornate version is just over 8kg and costs four times as much.
According to Chang's brochures, the coffins take two minutes to assemble, can hold up to 200kg, are wind and rain resistant and guaranteed against leaks.
Printed in bold was also this message:
"What we should leave behind is the everlasting beautiful environment."
In comparison, a hardwood coffin costs anywhere between NT$30,000 and NT$130,000 in Hong Kong and coffins in China cost up to NT$1,500 to rent, Chang said.
More traditional-minded people in China sometimes like to rest their dead in coffins, but the bodies are subsequently cremated without the coffins.
Chang has witnessed growing exports of his coffins in the past year to South Africa, the US and Australia, although he faces consumer resistance at home.
"Taiwan people still prefer to bury and burn precious wood," he said. "But I am exporting up to 20,000 coffins every month."
He has, however, set his sights on China, where he thinks his unusual coffins would command spectacular demand.
"It's not expensive and is in good taste. We hope to sell in China next year, and even manufacture there. I think we will be able to sell 15 million in three years' time," Chang said.
"Various government departments have given their approval. I'm just looking for a partner to set up factories in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. I plan to open factories in every province in due course to cut down on transportation."
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