Portugal, the world’s leading producer of cork, is finding new uses for the material, from footwear to furniture, as demand for wine bottle caps declines.
Producers emphasize the environmentally friendly properties of cork, which is lightweight, recyclable, waterproof and fireproof, to encourage its use in various environments.
Cork is obtained by stripping the bark of cork oak trees every nine years in a careful process that allows the tree to regenerate and grow, making the industry naturally sustainable.
The material has a “negative carbon footprint because it comes from a tree that captures CO2 day and night,” Antonio Rios de Amorim, CEO of the world’s largest cork producer Corticeira Amorim, told AFP.
The push to diversify comes as global wine sales decline, reducing demand for cork wine stoppers, which have long faced competition from cheaper plastic and screw caps.
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“Slow down periods must be used to question what we are doing,” said Amorim, whose ancestors founded Corticeira Amorim 154 years ago in the northern village of Mozelos, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of second city Porto.
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Thanks to the honeycomb-like structure of cork, the material is elastic and highly impermeable, making it suitable for making shoes, as well as ties, trousers and other clothing.
Furniture designers are also increasingly attracted to the material.
British designer Tom Dixon called it a “dream material” and produced a range of dark cork furniture that includes Portuguese cork tables, stools and shelves.
The Lisbon Metro in 2020 replaced the fabric upholstery on all seats in its fleet of trains with cork, a material that is easier to maintain.
Manufacturers have been attracted to the material due to its unique thermal insulation and sound absorption properties.
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Cork also finds its way into space. It is used in a thermal protection coating on booster missiles because of its resistance “to extreme temperature fluctuations,” Amorim said.
The manufacture of wine bottle caps, however, remains the main activity for Portugal’s cork industry, which employs around 8,000 people.
Corticeira Amorim manufactures approximately six billion cork wine bottle caps annually, almost all for export mainly to Chile, France and the United States.
It accounts for 70% of the global market share for cork stoppers and posted sales of 985 million euros (one billion dollars) in 2023, slightly lower than the previous year.
Traditional methods
Cork is made from the bark of the oak tree (Quercus suber) found in countries of the Mediterranean basin.
Portugal is home to about a third of the world’s total area dedicated to this tree — more than any other country — and accounts for nearly half of the world’s cork supply.
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Plantations also exist in France, Spain, Italy. Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
In the Ribatejo province some 80 kilometers east of Lisbon, cork oaks stretch as far as the eye can see.
The bark is removed from the tree in summer using traditional methods passed down from generation to generation.
It’s a very precise technique “that takes several years to learn,” said Nelson Ferreira, a 43-year-old cork bark harvester, adding that he takes great care not to damage the tree.
The bark is then transported to Corticeira Amorim’s factories in northern Portugal, where it is steam-treated, cut into smaller pieces and then fed into machines that pierce the caps.
The conservation of cork oaks is vital for Portugal, which has made them a protected species since it takes an average of 40 years for a tree to start producing cork that can be used by cork makers.
Source: AFP