(Beal’s personal Ecopod, which she has customized herself, is on display in her storefront window. “It’s really pretty profound,” she said, “to make your own coffin.”)

For cremated remains, Natural Burial stocks a selection of urns made from clay, paper, cork — even rock salt. The business also sells organic cotton bags to hold the cremains of customers who have a favorite container all picked out.

“A lot of people already have their own baskets,” Beal said. “I’m more interested in getting people to use something that’s biodegradable and can go into the ground rather than just selling them something.”

Beal launched her business in Eugene 10 years ago after having a revelation about what she calls the unsustainable nature of conventional burial practices in this country, where the deceased are typically laid to rest in caskets made of hardwood or metal and many cemeteries require a concrete vault or grave liner. Not only does it take a very long time for the body to decompose and return to the soil, but the real estate it occupies may be tied up indefinitely.

“We’re not going to be doing that in 50 years — the resources are too precious,” she said.