Sustainable English Willow

Sustainable English Willow


SUSTAINABILITY AND OUR HERITAGE WILLOW

What makes our Willow Coffins a truly sustainable, environmentally friendly and ethical choice?


We’re Planting Sustainable Willow!

Providing sustainable heritage willow for the future…

A major aim of our company, is to see more land in the UK being used for sustainable willow cultivation. 2016 – 2017 has seen three English Willow plots planted on the Weald Ridge and in the Sussex lowlands. We have a major Withy Bed planting project planned for 2021 where over 40,000 willow trees will be planted solely for production of willow for coffin making

Our plots holds some 13 different heritage willow varieties, carefully selected and sourced from the “National Willows Collection” in Hertfordshire and long established willow beds in Somerset. We aim to supply all of our own willow for coffin making, grown organically in Sussex.



Wicker Coffins from Natural English Willow | Sussex Willow Coffins

Here’s why we are passionate about planting willow…

  • Willow plantations create attractive natural habitats – For a variety of native birds, insects and other wildlife.
  • Willow cultivation is a heritage craft in itself – Growing practices and genetic stock need preserving and developing for future generations.
  • Local material sourcing – We want to reduce the carbon footprint of our wicker coffins, the less miles our willow has travelled the better.
  • Willow cultivation requires dense tree planting, for each square meter for ground 10 trees are planted which equates to around 40,000 per acre, that’s a lot of carbon consuming goodness!
  • Our home-grown willow is produced naturally and organically with no pesticides, herbicides or artificial fertiliser.

We are always on the lookout for new sites in the South East to plant heritage willow on, if you know of any potential opportunities please contact us.

 



Wicker Coffins from Natural English Willow | Sussex Willow Coffins

Local trade and ethical material sourcing

Our wicker coffins contains:

  • 1500 – 2000 willow rods grown in Sussex and Somerset.
  • 8 large willow rods grown in Sussex
  • 3 pieces larch grown in Sussex
  • 5 pieces ash timber grown in Sussex

We are always looking to improve our carbon footprint and reduce the distance that materials for our coffins have travelled. Our aim is to source all of our coffin making materials in the local area, within the next few years.

We only buy material from UK producers that employ sustainable forestry and agricultural practices.



Wicker Coffins from Natural English Willow | Sussex Willow Coffins

Natural and Ecological Coffins

Here is why our coffins are so environmentally friendly:

  • The making of these caskets will support English Willow growing and habitat creation for wild animals and insects. We are always seeking to convert more land in the UK, for the purposes of growing willow coppice and further sustainable willow cultivation in the future.
  • We include lots of untreated natural willow within our coffin designs; which has the bark on as opposed to being boiled or stripped. As well as looking great, this willow has the lowest embodied energy of all the craft willows; due to no mechanical stripping or boiling being required.
  • Sussex Willow Coffins produce a clean, chemical-free vapour during the cremation process, made almost entirely out of woven willow; unlike some common counterparts which include veneered chipboard in the design.


Wicker Coffins from Natural English Willow | Sussex Willow Coffins

Supporting Heritage Crafts

Protecting and preserving our heritage crafts

Willow weaving has a long history in the United Kingdom, largely due to the fact that wicker once packaged nearly all of our goods, before the advent of plastics and other modern packaging materials.

The same wicker-craft techniques and traditions are used in our handmade willow coffins, as those used by our ancestors hundreds of years ago. It is important to maintain these skills and pass them on to future generations, otherwise our wealth of wisdom and cultural heritage could be lost. Our aim is also to teach and train a new generation of willow crafts-people, to keep this heritage craft alive and suited to the modern world.

“My passion is to keep alive the knowledgebase that we have inherited from past generations, in the growing of willow and the skills of willow weaving” JW



Wicker Coffins from Natural English Willow | Sussex Willow Coffins

ENGLISH WILLOW WICKER COFFINS

Find out more about buying our hand crafted English Willow Wicker Coffins and how to order…



CONTACT SUSSEX WILLOW COFFINS

Make contact with Sussex Willow Coffins by phone, email or social media using these links: