If you purchase a natural burial vessel and/or any other of our products in advance, we can keep them in our warehouse without storage fees. When they’re needed, access will be smooth. Contact us to discuss.

In its work crafting burial vessels, NBV uses rattan, sea grass, water hyacinth, pandan leaf, banana plant fiber, and bamboo. We also use salvaged woods and Forest Stewardship Council certified mahogany and teak to craft burial vessel bottoms and urns.

Crafted from easy-to-access-and-process, natural materials, our burial vessels are inherently cost-effective. Their affordability combines with their eco-friendliness, with their distinctive beauty, and with their economic support to weaving communities to form a strong rationale for their use.

Some NBV burial vessels are basic and plain. Others are more ornate. NBV applies natural renewable materials, organic dyes, and various weave patterns to craft its burial vessels with splendid detail. It is what distinguishes natural burial vessels from other natural caskets: rich aesthetics, a broad selection, and a spirit for life’s diversity.

Some people prefer a plain and simple end-of-life arrangement. Others want to include more aesthetic flare. Sometimes a person decides to have an imaginative say in their last tribute. Therefore, when it is possible, Natural Burial Vessels Company will try to accommodate. As long as the materials we are tasked to apply are natural, renewable, and readily biodegradable, then we’ll do our best to help to realize an end-of-life plan.

NBV’s crafters are brilliant artisans. If you want a different vessel or urn, we can help you design it. If you decide on a special design, then allow enough time for the process.

Our burial vessels biodegrade quickly. The rate varies across the natural fibers we use — water hyacinth degrades the fastest, while rattan decomposes at a slower rate than the rest. All our vessels entirely biodegrade within three to four years. Compared to traditional burial caskets crafted from woods and metals, our natural vessels biodegrade significantly faster. They degrade by orders of magnitude faster than many 'modern' caskets that are constructed with an assortment of synthetic materials.

A woven burial vessel offers beautiful, elegant, and peaceful presentation before and during cremation. A natural part of a natural process.

Considering the environmental impact of cremation:

Estimates suggest that the energy equivalent of 25-30 gallons of gasoline, typically sourced from natural gas, fuels an average cremation.

The reduction of the deceased to ashes contributes to a cremation's carbon footprint, commonly estimated at 530 lbs. of CO2.

Beyond CO2 emissions, cremation using fossil fuels releases hazardous pollutants like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and mercury. Fine soot, varying in composition and quantity based on crematorium filtering systems, is also released into the atmosphere.

At the same time, driven by consumer expectations, crematoriums work steadily at increasing efficiency and reducing emissions of pollutants.

Scientific journals contain detailed studies on cremations’ environmental effects. Exploring these studies could be valuable in making end-of-life plans.

Our burial vessels can be used in both natural burial cemeteries and traditional cemeteries. In both scenarios our burial vessels are beautiful in presentation and completely biodegradable. 

Natural Burial Vessel’s focuses on creating beautiful, natural burial vessels, urns, and memorial elements. We do not own or operate funeral homes or natural burial (green) cemeteries. We network with funeral homes/mortuaries and cemeteries as part of our work to help make funeral arrangements occur as smoothly as possible. 

To locate green burial cemeteries and funeral homes near you check out this map by the Green Burial Council, and this resource list by Cornerstone Funeral Services.

Currently, we ship only to destinations in the Northwest United States. (Contact us to discuss arrangements.) Beginning on June 1 2024, we will have capacity to ship to destinations throughout the US. Thank you for patience while we develop this part of our business.