This precious, beautiful and environmentally correct material, that everybody has heard about but only a few know: Cork.
![[Cork Trees in Portugal]](img/corktree.jpg)
According to Natural Cork, The bark comes from the cork oak tree which grows in the forests of the Mediterranean countries. The largest concentration of plantations are found in Spain and Portugal. The bark was designed by Mother Nature specifically to protect the tree during its average 500 year lifespan. Not only is the bark inherently fire retardant to prevent the destruction of the tree by forest fires, but it is also resistant to temperature changes prevailing in those regions, to more than 38 species of insects including the termite, and to the development of microbes. It is important to note that only the bark is peeled off every decade. The tree itself is never felled. By using cork, we keep our forest alive.
Mol. wt: 174 - Alt.names: 1,8-Octanedioic acid
Bet you didn't know that a bottle cork supplier could be certified ISO 9002. You've got to wonder why bother, don't you?
Cork is a versatile substance, and a natural and renewable resource. Expanko Cork Company calls it "nature's versatile treasure": Used in products ranging from engine gaskets to wine corks, cork has adapted to the worlds rapidly changing tastes and technology for over two hundred years.
Cork can be made into amazing sculptures.
Cork is so versatile that even people who haven't the foggiest idea of how to design a web page can design very nice watches with it.
According to Expanko, it is also one of the most environmentally sensitive materials available. This characteristic includes, not only the organic techniques used to grow the cork trees, but also the manufacturing processes, where much of the work is performed with traditional hand labor.
The Natural Cork Quality Council has lots of wonderfully interesting information on cork.