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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
How to buy

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 handcrafted in New Zealand. 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 made. 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, choosing sustainably sourced timber, water-based finishes, eco-friendly handles and our in-house design innovations reducing 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 suit every budget and style. Whichever you choose, they 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 away 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 spotted an opportunity to create highly personal caskets that honour both the environment and loved ones.

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 Greg first noticed how the casket, with its plastic metal-look handles and fake wood grain 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 type of casket. Simplicity, minimal and natural materials were his guiding influences: Return to Sender was born.

OUR PEOPLE

Meet the team

Sue Hart

Factory Manager

Joined the team in 2014 on the workshop floor before becoming Factory Manager in 2017. Outside work, she loves restoring her vintage caravan and collecting miniatures.

Myron Ruiz

Product Developer

Joined in 2014 on the workshop floor and became Product Developer in 2017. Outside work, he’s a keen woodworker and designs interiors for a local shop.

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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