In our increasingly unsustainable fabric-obsessed fast fashion society, selecting sustainable textiles might feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. However, there are still many alternatives that are saving the day, one such is cork fabric. For thousands of years, cork has been utilised.
It served as a stopper for bottles of liquid in the Middle Ages, just like contemporary wine corks do now. Although the natural and highly practical material has long captivated mankind, utilising it as a flexible cloth is relatively new.
Natural cork fabric, commonly known as cork leather, is created using shavings from Quercus suber, the cork oak tree. The little, evergreen oak tree is indigenous to southwest Europe and northwest Africa (Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco).
After being harvested the cork is allowed to air dry for six months. To gain even more suppleness, it is then cooked and steam-treated. Heat and pressure are used to press cork into blocks, which are then divided into thin sheets and used to create a wide variety of beautiful cork leather accessories. Contrary to the extensive chemical processing of leather, cork leather is produced without the use of chemicals.
Before the bark of a cork tree can be harvested, it must be at least 25 years old, and even then, it can only be taken once every 9 years. The cork oak tree is not harmed when it is harvested for cork by a professional; on the contrary, the removal of some of the bark encourages regeneration, extending the life of the tree.
The cork can be harvested without the use of machinery. All you need is a basic axe, just like they did thousands of years ago. Moreover, for 200 to 500 years, a cork oak will continue to generate cork.
A long line of products
Cork is used for a variety of purposes, including flooring, insulation, wine bottle stoppers, eco-friendly yoga mats and blocks, and increasingly, sustainable fashion goods like vegan wallets, purses, and shoes that trade in animal hides for vegan materials.
Even in the worst weather, cork wallets and purses are ideal for protecting your favourite electronic devices. Water resistance is cork’s best-kept secret; it is the major reason why cork ages without degrading. Cork’s cell walls contain suberin, a waxy waterproofing material that makes it almost impervious to liquids and gases.
Cork is extremely abrasion resistant and has a high friction coefficient because of its honeycomb structure. Cork is a preferred material for this reason, even among NASA. Cork acts as a natural fire retardant and fire barrier due to its slow burning. China and India are now also producing high-quality cork.
A smooth, shining finish gives cork leather its distinctive appearance, which gets better with use. It is hypoallergenic, flameproof, and water resistant. Since air makes up 50% of cork’s volume, items manufactured of cork leather are lighter than those made of leather because of this. Cork’s honeycomb cell structure makes it a superior thermal, electrical, and acoustic insulator. Because cork has a high coefficient of friction, it can withstand repeated rubbing and wear, like what happens to our wallets and handbags. A cork leather item will maintain its shape thanks to the elasticity of cork, and since cork does not collect dust, it will stay clean. Cork has seven different quality levels, like other materials.
The ability of cork, or other tree-based materials for that matter, to sequester (remove) CO2 from our environment, is one of their key advantages. With cork, the tree is kept whole after harvesting, allowing it to continue storing carbon dioxide. It actually uses more carbon than usual while regrowing its bark.
In the case of the wine bottle, the use of cork reduced its overall emissions (alcohol excluded) by up to 40%, making cork often a carbon-negative product.
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