Where's My Casket From?

That's a rhetorical question, because I don't care.  Whatever box my family puts me in will be just fine.  And, just so you see where I am headed, it strikes me that the dearly departed is the ultimate consumer of the casket.

In the May 29 Bulletin (see page 72), Customs and Border Protection revoked prior rulings on the country of origin marking of burial caskets.  The caskets at issue were marked with their China origin on the bottom panel.  All other surfaces of the caskets were finished.  In HQ H033598, Customs held this to be unacceptable marking because it fails to meet the requirement that the marking be conspicuous to the consumer.  The consumer (who is not the deceased but the person buying the casket for the deceased) could not easily find and read the marking on the bottom of the casket.  

For all those casket makers out there, CBP wants to see the marking on a sticker or hangtag in a conspicuous place when the casket is normally displayed to consumers.

Frankly, this makes sense.  If the average consumer can't lift the product and it is only marked on the bottom, then the marking is not going to be considered conspicuous.  Of course, the same is likely to apply to a lot of other heavy objects like furniture.  So, next time you are out at the local furniture store, look for origin marking on desks and let me know what you find.

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