What is Cork?

Cork is such a remarkable material that even modern technology has been unable to match or surpass it. A completely natural product, cork is harvested without damaging or chopping down a single tree, making it the ultimate environmentally friendly product.

Cork is made of millions of cork cells - each cell functioning as a miniature sound and thermal insulator, as well as a miniature pressure and shock absorber.

By regaining its shape time and time again, no matter how much it is walked on or how long furniture stands on it, cork always retains its elasticity. These unique qualities make it ideal for use in flooring, as it reduces sound, is warm to the touch and comfortable to walk on.

The average chemical composition of cork is:

• Suberin (45%) - the main component of the cell walls; responsible for the resilience of the cork
• Lignin (27%) - the binding compound
• Polysaccharides (12%) - components of the cell walls which help define the texture of the cork
• Tannins (6%) - polyphenolic compounds responsible for colour
• Ceroids (5%) - hydrophobic compounds that ensure the imperviousness of cork
• Mineral water, glycerine, and others make up the remaining 4%

Cork cells are a minute, straight-sided pentagonal or hexagonal prism. The cell height rarely exceeds 0.045 millimetres but decreases to 0.02 to 0.01 millimetres in the last cork bark formed in the autumn. Following the invention of the optical microscope in the 1660s, the British scientist Robert Hooke was the first to observe the structure of cork, for which he coined the term 'cell'.

50 percent of cork is gas enclosed in the cells. Suberose sacs make the cork cell membrane impermeable and the cell airtight.

Suberin, a mixture of fatty acids and heavy organic alcohols, is the basic substance of cork. Impermeable to gas or liquid, it is also fire and insect resistant and unaffected by water.

Cork are biodegradable and recyclable. Many cork recycling initiatives help to conserve this natural resource. Recycled cork has many uses - such as for the manufacture of memo boards, placemats, coasters, floor tiles and gaskets.

Natural cork is:

• Natural, recyclable and biodegradable
• Very light
• Elastic, compressible and impermeable
• An efficient insulator for acoustics, heat and mechanical vibration
• Highly resistant to wear and tear