Quercus suber, the cork oak, is native to Southwestern Europe and Northwestern Africa. Covering around 2.5 million hectares, cork oak forests provide vital income to over 100,000 people in the Mediterranean Basin. Unique in its ability to regenerate its outer bark, cork oaks reach maturity at around 25 years of age and can be stripped of their cork every 9 years without causing permanent damage to the tree - making cork a truly regenerative material.

Taking place during a narrow window in early summer, cork harvesting is a traditional livelihood and highly skilled job, requiring patience and dexterity. Using an axe with a curved blade, long, vertical cuts are carefully made in the outer bark without damaging the vital structures underneath. The bark is cut horizontally before being prised off in large pieces. Each tree is then marked with a number showing the year, to make sure the tree has the chance to fully regenerate before the next harvest. Rough, deeply fissured and grey, the outer bark hides a vibrant burnt Sienna cork cambium underneath. It is this cellular structure that will regenerate into cork.

Cork oak forests play a key role in retaining water and preventing soil erosion in an arid environment that is increasingly prone to wildfires and desertification. These forests are also incredible carbon sinks, collectively storing up to 14 million tonnes of carbon a year. Harvesting is an integral part of carbon sequestration, increasing a tree’s demand for carbon dioxide - compared to an unharvested tree, a harvested tree absorbs almost five times as much carbon.

The cork oak forests of the Mediterranean are biodiversity hotspots, as rich in life as Amazonia.

What is perhaps most incredible about these forests, is how species rich they are. Supporting 135 species per square metre, the cork oak forests of the Mediterranean are biodiversity hotspots, teeming with life. Sheltering millions of wintering birds from Northern Europe, these forests are also home to endemic species that cannot survive in any other ecosystem as well as rare and globally endangered species such as the Barbary deer, Iberian imperial eagle and Iberian lynx.

Supporting cork harvesting helps to preserve this unique habitat. The survival of these forests is intrinsically linked to wine cork production. The WWF has urged the wine industry to support cork production and reverse the current trend for cheaper screw tops and plastic stoppers, predicting that up to 1.2 million hectares of forest could be lost in the coming years.

‘The wine industry plays a vital role in maintaining the economic value of cork and the survival of cork oak forests’ - WWF

The cork industry is a great example of a circular economy in which ecosystems are harvested within their limits and waste material is used as a resource, cork production is completely regenerative and eco-efficient with nothing going to waste, every scrap of cork is used.

The cork we use to make our cork table collection and Bob stool is made from waste produced in the manufacture of wine corks. Corks are hand cut from the choicest pieces leaving a large volume of waste. This waste cork is broken into small pieces and mixed with a polyurethane binder to form cork agglomerate, which is then pressed into large blocks. It is from these blocks that our furniture is milled.

By using waste from the wine cork industry we are helping to support the economic viability of cork oak harvesting and contribute to the conservation of this incredible ecosystem. One conservation story that has been a huge success is that of the Iberian lynx, once the world’s most endangered feline species, the Iberian lynx is making a comeback, increasing in number from 62 to over 2000 in the past 20 years, shifting on the IUCN Red List from ‘endangered’ to ‘vulnerable’ in June 2024. In a world that is facing biodiversity loss at an unprecedented pace, using cork as a material is just one positive step we can take. So, the next time you are selecting a bottle of wine, or a piece of furniture – choose cork.

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This article was originally included in our new publication, Material Intelligence | Design Understanding.

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