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Caskets

Baby

Soft, neutral tones with ample room for baby’s blanket and toys.

Contemporary range

Design led with individual style. One native tree donated to Trees for Survival with every Artisan, Wayfarer or Shroud Bearer sold.

Traditional range

Classic caskets made from New Zealand solid pine, available in a variety of colours.

Personalised range

Personalised contemporary caskets to truly reflect your life

Direct cremation range

Plywood caskets perfect for when no fuss is requested.
Urns
Accessories & hardware

Hardware

Drapery

Ornaments
Sustainability
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Home / About

About us

The team helping make final footprints small

Not your usual

What makes us different

There are many reasons why Return to Sender isn’t your standard casket and urn manufacturer. Our caskets are proudly made in New Zealand with care. Panels are cut with large machinery on-site for precision, before being assembled, sanded, painted and finished by hand. We’re passionate about the environment, so have developed clever design techniques that maximise natural resources and minimise the use of metal.

We’re committed to leaving New Zealand better than we found it by donating a native tree for every casket displaying the TREES FOR SURVIVAL logo. From humble beginnings, we’re now a respected leader in eco-friendly caskets.

NATURAL CHOICE

Eco-friendly caskets

All our designs have the environment at their heart. Selecting untreated, sustainably sourced timber, water-based finishes and solid pine handles reduces the need for non-biodegradable fixtures. We pride ourselves on our environmentally friendly caskets and urns that meet the highest quality requirements.

ALL BUDGETS

A range to suit all styles

Our range of caskets cater to every budget and style. Whichever casket you choose, rest assured we don’t compromise on care for the environment, and your loved one. As New Zealand’s leading designer and manufacturer of new design caskets, we cater for the growing number of Kiwis who want more contemporary, beautiful, environmentally-friendly caskets.

PERSONAL TOUCH

Our story is about people

It was the passing of founders Leanne and Greg Holdsworth’s fathers that first started the idea of Return to Sender. The chosen caskets didn’t accurately reflect the lives and loves of these men. Leanne and Greg saw an opportunity to create highly personal caskets that honoured both the environment and loved ones. And so, the award winning ARTISAN casket was born.

Origin

How it all started...

Return to Sender began in 2007 by Greg and Leanne Holdsworth. In 2005, Leanne’s father passed away. It was then that Greg first noticed how the casket, with its plastic ‘metal-look’ handles and fake wood grain on a MDF construction, in no way matched the values of his father-in-law who had a lifetime passion for timber.

For the final assessment of Greg’s production design degree, he decided to design a new, revolutionaly type of casket – The Artisan. Simplicity, minimal and natural materials were his guiding influences: Return to Sender was born.

OUR PEOPLE

Meet the team

Sue Hart

Factory Manager

Sue joined RTS in 2014 as a casket maker, heading in a very different direction after running her own graphic design business for 20+ years! After taking up the position of Factory Manager a few years later, her love of furniture and graphic design has continued, by designing and marketing new products with the team.

Myron Ruiz

Product Developer

Myron joined the team in 2014 on the workshop floor and became Product Developer in 2017. Myron is our talented 'all-rounder'. CNC and laser tamer, Programmer, back up painter, stand alone IT department and occasional casket maker. You name it, he can do it!... and always with a smile on his face.

Values

What is important to us

We believe in creating contemporary caskets designed with the planet in mind that minimise our impact on the environment. We believe in helping families choose the most beautiful final vessel that aligns with the values of their loved one. We believe in integrity and equality and welcoming people for who they are, not what they are.

We believe in being courageous and challenging the world’s way of thinking. We believe in using our passion to energise, engage and inspire others. We believe in collaboration and that new designs and processes are always a team effort.

We believe we will never stop learning and discovering new ways to do things better.

Handcrafted from natural materials

Our range of award-winning caskets are designed with the environment in mind, helping to make your final footprint a small one.

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Design

Winning planet-friendly designs

Our design ethos puts the environment at its heart. Not only do our caskets need to be environmentally friendly, they need to be beautiful to look at and truly reflect your loved one’s personality, beliefs and lifestyle.

Our designs have the planet in mind, are beautiful to look at and celebrate your loved one’s life, personality and beliefs. We’re constantly innovating to develop new products, technology and techniques each year.

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Endorsements

Ministry for the Environment case study

Return to Sender was the subject of a case study by the Ministry for the Environment. Focused mainly on the environmental benefits but also discusses plywood in terms of it being an iconic kiwi material, aesthetics, simplicity and social benefits derived from the low sides of the Artisan.

The report recognises that the influence of design can have benefits beyond those achieved by replacing a toxic product with an environmentally preferable one. A product that goes beyond this can become eco-iconic and help forward sustainable thinking to influence product manufacture and consumption.

View the MFE case study

Return to Sender

11 Mountjoy Place
Onehunga
Auckland
New Zealand

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