By Widget Finn (Telegraph.co.uk)

Perhaps it is the nature of the work, but funeral directors are a conservative lot, says Craig Cooper, co-founder of Devon-based Daisy Coffins. "It's difficult to persuade them to accept alternative styles of coffin made from sustainable materials rather than chipboard or mahogany veneer," he says.

A year ago Craig with his brother Alex, father Philip and family friend Andrew Baxendale launched the firm following the success of their handicraft business Devoncraft.

Craig explains: "We'd built up contacts with craftsmen in Indonesia who produced goods for Devoncraft and wanted to establish a sustainable business using natural materials like water hyacinth and banana leaf which are readily available in the Far East. It was Dad's idea to use these to make 'green' coffins."

Craig did market research by walking into funeral parlours and asking a lot of questions.

"The first person I approached generously gave me an hour of her time. We discussed the criteria for a coffin - funeral directors need it to be strong, not to creak or bow or be susceptible to mishaps," he says.

The Coopers came up with a coffin which is a conventional shape but the construction is large leaves wrapped around a softwood frame. Craig says: "It's more robust than cane or cardboard alternatives, uses dowelling rather than glue and wooden handles, not the usual plastic ones sprayed to look like brass."

Start-up funds for Daisy Coffins have been provided by the main handicraft business, mainly to build two large warehouses which cost, says Craig, "double the price of a standard house" and currently hold 200 coffins.

"We want to show the funeral trade that we're serious by the effort we've put into getting the structure of the coffins right and the warehousing and distribution system that we've set up. We use a courier service to deliver coffins the next day, and tested the goods' durability by sending samples to Scotland and back."

Currently Daisy Coffins is not a stand-alone business, and Craig believes that it should reach break-even point by the end of the year if it is to prove its viability.

The product was launched at a funeral trade exhibition in June last year where it received a mixed reception, though several funeral directors ordered coffins for their showrooms.