The cork oak is an evergreen deciduous tree in the genus of oaks. Named are the powerful Cork layers of the trunk used for cork extraction. A single tree can be used during its up to 700 kilograms of cork. Regular cork extraction contributes to the fact that cork oaks naturally regenerate. So no tree is felled to win cork. The Portuguese cork oak forests (called Montados) bind around 5 million tonnes of CO2 per year. In addition to many rare plants, they also host some endangered animal species such as the Iberian lynx, the Berber deer or the imperial eagle. In Portugal, cork oaks grow on an area of 736,000 hectares, which country into one of the largest cork producers in the world. The annual harvest of 190,000 tons of cork corresponds to about 50% of world production.
In order to use cork as a textile, it is cooked after harvesting. This makes it more elastic andlexibler. After drying, the bark is cut and glued to a textile carrier material. This consists of mainly made of cotton or polyester. The cork fabric, also known as cork leather, is born and can be into cork bags and other accessories. This procedure is very complex and includes a lot of manual work, which makes cork production relatively expensive.
Cork is an all-rounder. One square centimeter consists of 40 million cells! That is why it is so adaptable. It is also lightweight, flexible, water-repellent, breathable, insulating, insulating, renewable, biodegradable and simply unmistakable.