Sustainbility Policy
ABOUT OUR ORGANIC CORK PRODUCTS.
WHAT IS CORK?
The particular properties of cork—thermic, acoustic, high resistance to abrasion, non-toxicity, hypoallergenicity, elasticity, compressibility, viscoelasticity, non-permeability to gases and liquids, recyclability and biodegradability.
Cork is the outer bark of the Cork Oak Tree which grows in the Mediterranean area. Cork trees are the only tree in the world that regenerates stripped bark. Approximately 6.6 million acres of cork forest extend across Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia and France. These oak forests support one of the world’s highest levels of forest biodiversity, second only to the Amazonian Rainforest.
The cork used in our yoga products is a 100% renewable and recyclable material that is obtained through one of the most environmentally friendly harvesting methods in the world. The process our Portuguese and Italian partner will put The cork bark planks stacked in piles where they remain exposed to sun, wind and rain, allowing the cork to stabilize. Then they will bpiling the barks in high temperature to clean out and soften the raw cork materias and later They remain stacked for no more than six months. After this process is finished, the planks are sent to manufacturers for production. We make sure the cork barks got proper natural treatment without any chemicals. Cork displayed high antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, with a bacterial reduction of almost 100% (96.93%) after 90 minutes of incubation, similar to the one obtained with ACA. A more reduced but time-constant antibacterial action was observed against Escherichia coli (36% reduction of the initial number of bacterial colonies)
The process of producing cork takes decades might suprise you.
Cork Oaks remain untouched for up to 30 years and then harvested only every 9 to 12 years, allowing the natural process of maturing to occur. That means cork trees are never cut down to harvest cork, they are carefully shaved where the natural bark can grow back. Harvested cork oak trees can live up to 300 years. No bark is wasted during the cork production process, and the residue is granulated to make other cork products and even cork dust is used for fuel. The process is performed completely by hand and provides over 100,000 fair wage jobs plus a harvested cork oak tree absorbs up to five times more [carbon dioxide] than one that isn’t harvested.
Cork—a wealth of resources for people and Nature
All of our cork yoga products are shipped using cork from Italy. Portugal and Spain with recycled paper. We try to reduce the use of plastic. all of our cork products are vegan. To offset carbon emissions in shipping we are active participating in multiple organization supporting reforestation/forest preservation carbon offset projects.
HOW IS CORK HARVESTED?
Not a single tree is cut down to harvest cork, rather, the bark is stripped by hand every 9 years. Harvested cork oak trees can live up to 300 years. No bark is wasted during the cork production process, and the residue is granulated to make other cork products and even cork dust is used for fuel. The process is performed completely by hand and provides over 100,000 fair wage jobs plus a harvested cork oak tree absorbs up to five times more [carbon dioxide] than one that isn’t harvested.