Cork is truly an incredible material.
Grown primarily in Portugal and Spain on the Iberian Peninsula, France, Italy and in North Africa, Cork oak tree forests are a dynamic and essential ecological system. Known by most as the stopper in a bottle of wine, cork is so much more than a bottle plug (that doesn't mean we don't massively appreciate its role keeping our wine fresh!).
Cork trees are not cut down for their material, instead cork bark is harvested from a living tree and regenerates over a period of 9-12 years. During this bark regeneration period, the cork tree absorbs 3-7x more carbon than it traditionally would unharvested. You got it - harvesting cork bark contributes to carbon capture and reducing the impact of climate change. How cool is that!? This makes cork an extremely renewable material. Cork is also highly biodegradable - no micro-plastics here!
Cork trees live up to 300 years and the cork harvesting process and cork foresting is a familial art passed down through generations of local families in the Iberian Peninsula and as such, there is a vested interest is the longevity, health and sustainability of these forests. These trees are also essential to the employment and livelihood of the local populations of these forests giving cork harvesting a large positive societal impact locally.
On top of increased carbon capture, cork is renowned for its anti-microbial, water-repelling, fire-resistant and biodegradable qualities. Cork is clean and extremely durable. If this isn't enough to convince you that cork is one of the best materials for massage products, then we don't know what will be!
TBC's cork product material is sourced from Portugal and designed in China.
Have a look at our cork product collection here!
