Cork is a Green Building product

Why is cork a green product?

It is a green product because it uses the bark of the cork oak tree every nine years and does not cut down the tree for the product. The bark regrows for another harvest in time. Some trees can live as long as 200 years or more.

That is why it is better then a renewable resource.

What is Cork ?

Cork material is a prime-subset of generic cork tissue, harvested for commercial use primarily from the Cork Oak tree, Quercus suber, with Portugal producing 50% of cork worldwide. Cork consists mostly of suberin. Cork's elasticity combined with its near-impermeability makes it suitable as a material for bottle stoppers, especially for wine bottles. Cork stoppers represent about 60% of all cork based production. Cork's low density makes it a suitable material for fishing floats and buoys, as well as handles for fishing rods (as an alternative to neoprene). Cork is used in musical instruments, particularly woodwind instruments, where it is used to fasten together segments of the instrument, making the seams airtight. Sheets of cork, often the by-product of more lucrative stopper production, are used to make floor tiles and bulletin boards. Granules of cork can also be mixed into concrete. The composites made by mixing cork granules and cement have low thermal conductivity, low density and good energy absorption. Some of the property ranges of the composites are density (400–1500 kg/m³), compressive strength (1–26 MPa) and flexural strength (0.5–4.0 MPa).


Where does cork come from and how is it harvested?

The cork oak tree is not destroyed and then replanted but rather the bark is harvested from the tree every 9 years, leaving the forest undamaged. Its not unusual to have a 200 year old tree still producing cork bark. Even better than a renewable resource, Cork is a Harvested Resource. Only the bark is harvested from the tree, causing no damage to the tree which re-grows new bark. Cork flooring is actually made from the waste of the cork wine stopper manufacturing process so cork flooring is a recycled product. All pigments, varnishes and adhesives that your cork manufacturer uses should be water-based, solvent-free and have no VOCs.


That is the ultimate green cork one that has no VOC's.

History of Cork

History of Cork Cork is harvested from the Cork Oak tree that is grown primarily around the Mediterranean basin. Portugal is the largest producer of cork today. The benefits of cork were known to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians who used it for bottle stoppers for olive oil and wine, floats for fishing nets, sandals, insulation on shipping vessels and even roofing in Northern Africa. By the 1300s, cork was a major export of Portugal and royal decrees established regulations over the harvesting and protection of this valuable national resource. In the 1930s, the "9 Year" law was passed which forbid the harvesting of cork bark at any interval less than 9 years. Harvesting of virgin growth cork trees is outlawed until the trees reach 60 centimeters in circumference. Cork bark is still harvested from the tree in a centuries old tradition with hand tools.

Natural Benefits of Cork

Most of the benefits of cork are derived from its specialized cellular structure. Cork has a honeycomb cellular structure and each cubic centimeter contains roughly 40 million hexagonal cells. The cork tissue is nearly 90% comprised of an air-like gas that makes the material very lightweight and low density.