What Is the Best Shroud for Water Cremation?
The short answer: wool. Water cremation only breaks down protein, and wool is pure protein. Wisewool™ Wiselayer™ wool shroud cloth is 100% New Zealand wool: undyed, unfinished, with 0.0% vegetable matter after scouring and no chemical residue detected in independent testing. It has wrapped every person cared for at New Zealand's first water crematorium since it opened on 6 June 2025.
At a glance
Breaks down completely — wool dissolves alongside the body. Nothing to recover, nothing down the drain.
No plastic bag needed — replaces the fossil-fuel polymer bags most operators are sold.
Clean by test, not by claim — every pesticide tested came back "not detected" (NZWTA, IWTO-DTM-59).
Traceable to the farm — we can tell you which farms your roll came from.
Proven in use — over a year in the vessel in Christchurch with no problems.
For people and pets — the same cloth, cut to size.
Why does a water cremation shroud have to be wool?
Because only protein breaks down in the vessel. Water cremation (also called alkaline hydrolysis, aquamation or resomation) uses warm water and alkali to return the body to its natural building blocks. That process dissolves protein, and very little else.
Cotton, linen and wood come out intact. So does almost every plastic. Industry guidance from the Cremation Association of North America states plainly that cotton shrouds are unsuitable. Even the thread has to be protein.
| Material | What happens in water cremation |
|---|---|
| Wool (keratin protein) | Breaks down alongside the body. Nothing added, nothing left behind. |
| Silk (protein) | Breaks down, but costs several times more than wool. |
| Cotton, linen, hemp | Comes out intact and must be removed from the vessel. |
| Wood or caskets | Not permitted in the vessel. |
| PVA plastic bag | Made from fossil fuels and engineered to dissolve. What happens to it after that is disputed in the scientific literature. |
The plain rule: anything that isn't protein has to come out of the vessel or go down the drain. Wool does neither.
How pure is Wisewool™ wool?
As pure as wool gets, and independently tested to prove it. Not all wool is equal: dyes, finishes, chemical residues and plant debris all add material that isn't keratin. Wisewool™ shroud cloth has none of them.
| Test | Wisewool™ result | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical residue (NZWTA, test method IWTO-DTM-59) | Every pesticide tested: not detected View the NZWTA test report (PDF) |
Nothing foreign goes into the vessel with your loved one |
| Vegetable matter after scouring | 0.0% (industry norm 1–2% greasy) | No seeds or plant debris that won't break down |
| Dyes and finishes | None. Undyed and unfinished | Pure keratin, start to finish |
| Fibre | 100% East Coast New Zealand strong wool, 36–39 micron | Strength in the fibre itself, with no glues or binders needed |
Residue tests covered organochlorines, organophosphates, synthetic pyrethroids and insect growth regulators (NZWTA reports 1-01470007.E4 and 1-01470008.E2). Every batch is tested by NZWTA to IWTO standard, with a verification code on the label.
The wool is gently scoured in New Zealand with hot water and biodegradable detergent - no carbonising, no harsh chemicals.
Strength from the fibre, not from glue. Wisewool™ uses only strong wool from the East Coast of New Zealand, 36 to 39 micron. This thicker fibre carries its strength in itself. At our Te Poi factory we engineer nature's cleverness with needle-punching expertise: fine barbed needles lock the fibres together mechanically. No nasty adhesives, glues or synthetic binders, so the cloth stays pure protein from edge to edge.
Does it work in practice?
Yes, more than a year in the vessel, with no problems. New Zealand's first water crematorium, run by Water Cremation Aotearoa with Bell, Lamb & Trotter in Christchurch, has used Wisewool™ since opening on 6 June 2025. Every individual in their care is individually wrapped in Wisewool™. Nothing recovered, nothing to explain.
Director Deborah Richards described it to the Otago Daily Times:
"We wrap a body in some beautiful New Zealand wool, we've got that from Wisewool™ up in Gisborne where they have the sheep and they make the beautiful blanketing that we wrap people in as a shroud."
What families say
Families often spend time with their loved one once shrouded, faces covered or uncovered. The feedback has been consistent:
"They find their loved ones look very cosy."
"There has been a lot of feedback about how beautiful the wool is."
"Shrouding is a lovely last thing to do for a person."
"Hopefully others who offer water cremation will find out how great it is, and use it too."
— Deborah Richards, Director, Water Cremation Aotearoa (quoted with permission)
For families, the last thing they see matters. Wool looks right: warm, soft and natural.
How is a Wisewool™ shroud used?
Simply. Wiselayer™ shroud cloth comes on a roll and is cut to size on the day, no sizes to stock.
Cut about 1.5 m of cloth per person (one roll covers around 20 farewells).
Wrap the body gently in the soft wool blanket.
Tie with two wool ties cut from the same roll — nothing sourced separately, nothing that isn't protein.
Farewell — families can spend time with their loved one shrouded, face covered or uncovered.
Water cremation — the shroud goes into the vessel and breaks down alongside the body.
Can Wisewool™ be used for pet water cremations?
Yes. Water cremation is offered for family pets, and the same rule applies: only protein breaks down. The same WiseLayer™ cloth is simply cut smaller - a cat, a small dog or a much-loved Labrador all wrapped in the same soft New Zealand wool.
For many families a pet is family. Wrapping them in natural wool gives the same gentle, dignified goodbye, and the same peace of mind that nothing synthetic goes with them.
Where does the wool come from?
From named farms on New Zealand's East Coast, and we can tell you which ones. Most shroud materials are bulked, blended and traded between businesses until nobody knows where they started. Wisewool™ wool never leaves the family's sight.
From farm to shroud, one family oversees every step:
The farm — sheep raised on 300+ partner farms in Gisborne / Tairāwhiti, all NZFAP farm-assured for animal welfare and land care. Many have run the same proven sheep genetics for over 80 years.
The shed — farmers keep paddocks, lanes and gateways clear so fleeces stay clean before shearing.
The woolstore — every lot is core-tested on arrival; only A-grade fleece is accepted.
The scour — washed in New Zealand to our own recipe, with hot water and biodegradable detergent.
The cloth — needle-punched at our Te Poi factory into Wiselayer™ shroud cloth - no adhesives, no binders. Available in various lofts and gsm’s.
The roll — traced back to the farms it came from, through Wisetrace™.
Scan it yourself: from shroud to farm
Every roll label carries a verification code and a QR code. Scan the QR code with your phone camera, or enter the code online, to see the independent NZWTA test results for that batch and the farms its wool came from.
A caring story, 132 years in the making
Wisewool™ is a fifth-generation family business that has worked with East Coast wool since 1894. A family member personally oversees the journey from farm to finished cloth. Wisewool™ is B Corp certified and Land to Market verified regenerative.
When a shroud is the last thing a family sees, it should come from people who care how it was grown, and can show you.
The bottom line
Wool is the natural shroud for water cremation because it is pure protein, it returns to the earth alongside the body, leaving nothing behind. Wisewool™ adds what families and funeral directors need to trust: tested purity, full traceability to the farm and more than a year of proven use in New Zealand's first water crematorium.
