Greenpeace UK has unveiled a new, limited-edition coffin designed to empower baby boomers to continue fighting for the planet into the afterlife.
The limited-edition casket features a six-foot telescopic protest arm – calibrated to emerge just above turf level – interchangeable protest signs, and a revolutionary Sleeve Selectortm that includes denim, tartan, and floral patterns. This piece of next-gen activism technology allows its occupant to voice environmental concerns even while they’re six feet under.
The coffin was unveiled to the public in central London, transported in the back of a hearse on a route via the Houses of Parliament and Shell petrol stations. Parliament Square has long been a high-profile site for protests, and Shell is the UK’s largest fossil fuel company by revenue, with 100s of new fossil fuel projects in its global pipeline.
The campaign aims to highlight the difference that baby boomers can make in the battle against environmental disaster. There is a view among baby boomers that advertising to people of their age plays on stereotypes – 62% say they underestimate their appetite for activism.
This coffin is the perfect antidote, enabling planet-conscious baby boomers to keep fighting for the earth they love even after they are buried deep within it.
New research from Greenpeace shows huge concern among over 55s about the current and future states of the planet as well as belief that it is not too late to act. The good news for them is that there are other, more effective, ways of continuing this fight before it’s too late.
“Baby boomers appreciate that they have had it good and that it’s time to give something back,” said John Hutchin, Greenpeace UK’s Head of Legacies.
“This coffin is a brilliant way to keep protesting well into the afterlife, but that generation can have a far greater impact by leaving a legacy gift to Greenpeace and ensuring the fight for our environment continues for future generations.”
Greenpeace’s research shows 62% of baby boomers say they are concerned about the planet that is being left to future generations, while 59% of people over say the planet will be in a worse condition when they die than when they were born.
However, there is widespread agreement that moving into the later stages of life doesn’t need to mean an end to activism. Two thirds (65%) believe it is important to keep fighting for the planet after they are gone and just a quarter (25%) said it’s too late for them to leave their mark on the world.
As a result, half (48%) say they are considering leaving a gift to a charity as part of their will, showing that a novelty coffin is not the only way to keep fighting for the planet after you have gone.
Valli, 70, and Pip, 69, Lawrence have left gifts to Greenpeace in their wills : “We feel that leaving something to Greenpeace in our Wills, will help compensate for what our generation (often unknowingly) have taken out and destroyed in the environment, and this will act as some sort of recompense. We are now aware that we have exploited the environment for our own purposes, without considering the adverse effects it’s had on the planet and all its inhabitants.”
