Hainsworth's, a speciality textile firm based in Pudsey, has joined forces with the UK's leading coffin manufacturer, JC Atkinson, to produce the range of coffins.

They will be manufactured by Hainsworth at the firm's Pudsey mill and distributed across the UK by JC Atkinson.

The coffins are made from pure new wool and are supported on a strong, recycled cardboard frame.

All the materials used are biodegradable and suitable for cremation and all types of burial.

To complement the coffins a range of shrouds, accessories and matching ash caskets are being manufactured.

Both the coffin and the casket have personalised embroidered woollen name plates.

The partnership between the two companies was formed when Hainsworth, a Royal Warrant Holder, which manufactures textiles for a diverse range of uses from pool and snooker cloth to the Queen's Guards Scarlet, had the idea to make a coffin.

The company approached JC Atkinson who, as one of the leading independent coffin distributors, has provided them with a ready-made route to the funeral director market.

Julian Atkinson, managing director of JC Atkinson said: "This is an exciting new concept and one that brings something completely new to the coffin market.

"For our company one of the most important things is the environmental credentials of the materials. The wool has a truly green lineage being British, natural, sustainable and biodegradable. The coffins will carry the British Wool Mark and use 100 per cent British wool.

"Recycled cardboard is used and all the materials, including the packaging, are biodegradable.

"As the coffins are manufactured in Yorkshire, the distribution costs are minimal and there is the added benefit of boosting a local economy in a traditional manufacturing sector."

Rachel Hainsworth, sales director of Hainsworth, said: "This is an innovative coffin and something completely new for the alternative coffin market, but the use of wool in burials is nothing new.

"The Burial in Wool Act of 1667 made it a legal requirement for the dead to be buried in woollen shrouds in an attempt to boost the struggling woollen industry of the time.

"With the current social eco agenda, rising concerns on the environmental impact of burials and this innovative product, the industry has come full circle."