FREE STANDARD DELIVERY | Worldwide
FREE STANDARD DELIVERY | Worldwide
August 31, 2017 5 min read 0 Comments
So, What Should You Use Instead?
Eco-friendly fashion really is the answer in this case. It takes an alternate route, focusing on making things differently:
- Eco-friendly fashion relies on organic raw materials.
- Eco-friendly fashion often uses recycled and/or reused textiles.
- Eco-friendly fashion accessories and garments are made to last, so can keep them longer.
- Eco-friendly fashion relies on fair trade, which means people producing them are fairly paid and have decent working conditions.
Eco-friendly materials are renewable resources that will replenish in a relatively short amount of time. A material is also considered more or less eco-friendly as a function of how much land it takes up to become fully developed and to support its life. The less the extent, the greener the material is. Lastly, quantities of chemicals used in the growth and production processes also determine if a product or material can be considered eco-friendly.
The Case of Cork
Among leather alternatives, cork is queen. Considered a mature alternative to leather, it's also one of the alternatives that best mimics leather in terms of form and function. The production process of cork and cork leather sheets is extremely straightforward.
Cork planks are left outside to dry for up to six months to improve its quality and to get them flat. Cork planks are then treated with heated water and fungicide to remove dirt and to make it flexible and left to cure in a dark cellar for a few more weeks. Heat and pressure are then applied to cork to press it into blocks, which are later sliced in thin sheets that can be transformed in cork leather accessories. Unlike the heavy chemical processing of leather and leather alternatives, cork leather production is practically chemical-free.
What's in it for me?
When you choose cork everybody wins: you get a quality nonleather wallet or accessory, and the environment keeps its balance. To help you wrap your head around the benefits cork can offer, we’ve made a list:
- Cork is the bark of the cork oak, manually removed every nine years without damaging the trunk.
- Cork is water-resistant, keeping your valuables safe even in the most adverse weather conditions.
- Cork is wear and tear-resistant, highly abrasion-resistant, and with a high friction coefficient and resistance to impact.
- Cork is incredibly light: half of cork's volume is air, which makes it very light and buoyant.
- Cork is practically impermeable to liquids and gases.
- Cork used in our nonleather wallets and bags are certified, signaling the responsible consumption of forest products.
- Cork is one of the most renewable and eco-friendly resources on the planet
- Every time a cork oak tree is harvested, it absorbs three to five times more CO2 to aid in the bark’s regeneration process.
- Supporting cork is supporting nature: the financial viability of cork and its growers helps provide long-term protection for a unique and fragile ecosystem—the cork oak forest—habitat for rare and endangered species, like the Iberian lynx and home to enormous forest biodiversity.
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