When it comes to buying a coffin, it is incredibly important to ensure that you purchase a coffin that has been approved by the Funeral Supplier’s Association (FSA), formerly known as the Funeral Furnishing Manufacturers’ Association (FFMA). Read on to find out why buying a coffin approved by this organisation is so important.
What is the FSA?
The FSA was established in 1939 to act as a link between the funeral sector and its manufacturers and goods suppliers. The FSA aims to safeguard the funeral industry and continually improve the high standards of products and services its members offer.
This is a huge task, and the predominant area the FSA focuses on is the quality of coffins, caskets, and shrouds. The Association has an extensive code of conduct that members must adhere to, certifying that they are makers of funeral products of high standards.
The FSA also represents members of both the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Funerals and Bereavement and the Deceased Management Advisory Group (DMAG). The DMAG was formed as a result of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, and continues to carry out important work to this day.
FFMA approved coffins
When the organisation rebranded to the Funeral Suppliers’ Association in 2022, it kept the FFMA as a separate group specifically for coffin manufacturers and the Coffin Accreditation programme. The FFMA has developed a rigorous testing protocol to ensure that coffins and caskets are fit for purpose. The protocol launched in 2016, and Musgrove Willows Coffins quickly took the decision to have our handwoven willow coffins tested. Our coffins passed, and we are now proud to be suppliers of FFMA approved willow caskets and coffins.
To date, the FFMA has tested and accredited over 170 coffins, furthering its ambition to ensure funeral sector suppliers provide items of outstanding quality.
FFMA approved coffins are thoroughly tested to make sure they are fit for purpose. Often, cheaper willow coffins are not well enough made to offer the strength a coffin needs to have. There is a huge difference between a willow coffin made by a skilled weaver with good quality willow, and a willow coffin woven using poor materials by someone without proper training.
The FFMA testing protocol
Each FFMA test is carried out by Intertek, a Total Quality Assurance Provider to industries worldwide. A coffin or casket has to pass eight mandatory tests before it can be licenced and stamped with the FFMA’s pass standard mark. Each test is incredibly thorough, so buyers can trust that an FFMA approved is of top quality.
Every coffin is tested for the following:
- Test 1: The coffin is tested to ensure it can bear a certain weight.
- Test 2: The coffin is tested to ensure it moves on rollers without snagging.
- Test 3: Pressure is applied to the end of the coffin to ensure it doesn’t break under a solid load.
- Test 4: The coffin is tested to ensure it is suitable for a TABO charger, which is used for some cremations.
- Test 5: The coffin is tested to ensure it is suitable for cremation.
- Test 6: The coffin is tested to ensure it will produce a suitable volume of ashes in cremation.
- Test 7: The strength of the coffin handles are tested to ensure they can bear a certain weight.
- Test 8: The coffin’s ash residue is tested to ensure it is not unmanageable.
- Test 9: The coffin lining is tested to ensure it is up to standard.
Why it’s important to buy an FFMA approved coffin
Purchasing an FFMA approved coffin ensures that you are buying a quality product that has been thoroughly tested and comes with the promise that it is of the highest standard in the industry.
If the coffin is to be cremated, something else to bear in mind is that staff at a crematorium can refuse a coffin that hasn’t been approved by the FFMA.
The FFMA also plays an important role in ensuring that the coffins and caskets in the funeral industry are meeting certain standards for sustainability. As more and more people choose green and woodland burial sites, it is important that coffins reflect the ethos behind these places of rest. A plastic-free coffin made using environmentally friendly methods and materials including a woven base is the best choice.
Being environmentally conscious is something that’s very important to us at Musgrove Willows – we were very proud to be the first supplier to the funeral industry to win the GGFA Gold Slate Award for sustainability. Willow is an incredibly eco-friendly crop, and we employ traditional farming methods that ensure the willow we grow impacts our surrounding environment as little as possible.
Our willow coffins – also known as wicker coffins – are completely biodegradable. Each waterproof liner is made from corn starch, and even our name plaques are made from sustainable oak and tied to each coffin with willow. We can also close our willow coffins with wooden toggles if desired.
