Do you know the history and the usage of new cork leather?
It’s interesting to know how cork fabric is made.
and what material is used in this process.
Cork leather is created by tanning the bark of cork oak trees.
Cork Oaks are native to the Mediterranean area of Europe, which accounts for the production of eighty percent of the world's cork.
However, high-quality cork is now now being cultivated in China and India.
Before the bark of cork trees can be collected, the trees need to be at least 25 years old, and even after that, harvesting can only take place once every 9 years.
When done by a trained professional, harvesting the cork from a Cork Oak does not do any damage to the tree.
On the contrary, the removal of parts of the bark encourages regeneration, which helps a tree live for a longer period of time.
It may take a cork oak anything from two hundred to five hundred years to start producing cork.
The bark of the cork oak tree is stripped by hand into boards, let to air-dry for six months, then cooked in water, flattened, and pressed into sheets.
The sheet of cork is then pressed with a fabric backing, which is attached to the cork by suberin, a naturally occurring adhesive that is contained in the cork.
The ultimate product is one that is not only flexible, supple, and robust but also the "vegan leather" on the market that is the most ecologically friendly.
The finish of cork leather is smooth and lustrous, and its look tends to become more attractive with age.
It does not absorb water, does not catch fire, and does not cause allergic reactions.
As a result of the presence of air in cork (which accounts for fifty percent of its volume), goods crafted from cork leather are much more lightweight than their leather analogues.
Because of its honeycomb cell structure, cork is a superb insulator in all three dimensions: thermally, electrically, and acoustically.
Due to the high friction coefficient of cork, it is resistant to wear and tear in environments with consistent rubbing and abrasion, like the way we handle our handbags and wallets.
This makes cork an ideal material for these kinds of applications.
The flexibility of cork ensures that an object made of cork leather will keep its form, and the fact that it does not collect dust ensures that the piece will continue to be clean.
The quality of cork may vary, just like the quality of any other material; there are seven recognized classes, and the cork of the highest quality is flawless and free of any marks.
It is essential to understand that this situation does not permit the drawing of a direct parallel in any way.
The quality of the Cork Leather product will be determined by the quality of the cork that was used and the quality of the material that it was backed with.
