What is CORK & how are products made with it?

[@guidodezwaan]

nice video about how its made, cork flooring is really nice to have.

[@mijalic1]

Great presentation. Thank you for your time and effort to make this video and share your knowledge with us. Greetings from Croatia.

[@ecocorkaus]

Thank you for your comment, we are glad you enjoyed it :)

[@melissasturgis]

Thank you for showing us how cork is made because I never knew

[@ecocorkaus]

You are most welcome! You are also welcome to share it around and teach others!

[@Aeriella-r5d]

What do they use to bind the cork when they press it into blocks?

[@saritasarit]

I have always loved cork ever since my interior designer dad covered the walls in my room with it. It was warm and softer and you could hang things everywhere.

[@ecocorkaus]

wow very nice, would you have any photos?! We would love to see something like that! Where are you located? Now we have a specific product made to do just what your dad did but in many different colours! www.ecocork.com.au/shop

[@saritasarit]

@@ecocorkaus I don’t have pictures unfortunately this was like 20 years ago in a few houses and countries ago. He covered three quarters of the high of the hall room and finished with moulding as if you where doing wood panelling, in the whole four walls of mine and my brothers room. This was when we lived in Galicia, near Portugal, and cork was really affordable. The leftover rolls of cork when onto numerous crafts projects, it so so versatile to have it. Now im located in Cape Town and cork is more expensive but still available in rolls. Im thinking of covering my children’s room with it.

[@ecocorkaus]

@@saritasarit Wow that would look amazing! :) There are so many things that can be done with Cork, we can't wait to see more of it in Australia! Thanks for your comments! We have an instagram too if you wanted to see some of the projects with cork instagram.com/ecocorkaus

[@tranquility9325]

Fascinating and ingenious

[@ecocorkaus]

We think so too!

[@diliscsavo3059]

The cork at the start with the sign BB is from Hungary, Balatonboglár, where there is a local winery.

[@ecocorkaus]

How cool to know. That solves one mystery, now to work out all the other ones? haha

[@ishaaqmohamed8788]

this is it 👍 people who understand impacts of deforestation here it is guys. This is for you ❤ why not guys why not just take it globally a day will come where everything will be cork furnitures and there won't be any need to cut billion of trees.

[@ecocorkaus]

Hello! thank you for the support and love! We could only wish for that day. Slowly we are making a difference!

[@allisonjames2923]

All of that bark is cut by hand. That’s crazy! Seems like an extremely low waste industry which is great!

[@ecocorkaus]

Incredibly low waste, and any of the waste or cork 'dust' that ends up on the floor is swept up and used to generate most of their power!

[@nbrouse388]

Beautiful 😱

[@mytrickpeony]

Great video! Do manufacturers use a synthetic binder/glue to create blocks from cork granules or do they use natural latex (aka NRL)? I’m severely allergic to latex/NRL and sometimes I get a bad reaction from touching certain shoe soles but I’m fine with other shoes.

[@ecocorkaus]

We can't speak for all manufacturers of course, some would possibly use products like that. Some method of cork production doesn't use any adhesives (cork when heated up releases its own gas that glues it back together. We also don't deal with the shoe side of things sorry!

[@000gjb]

Cork is a great material for flooring, soft under foot and thermally stable under foot all year, not cold or hot. Its only downfall is resurfacing. Our natural cork floors were painted high gloss Urethane clear finish every 5 years. The tiles were in place for 40 years and were only replaced because of the termite damage to the timber floor underneath. We replaced the tiles with a high gloss Calacatta marble look ceramic tile. Spectacular to look at but as cold as the Antarctic during winter. Maybe further research can combine the two without cracking the ceramic, the best of both worlds.

[@MarquesFlooring]

The ecoCORK Insulation Acoustic Underlay can be used under tiles to help with the 'coldness' of tiles. The newer finishes last longer as well, generally about 10-12 years under normal use. Thanks for your comments and love for Cork.

[@ksundar22]

hi, where was the display of the various cork products located - was it in a factory or a museum in town?

[@MarquesFlooring]

Hello! This is from the showroom located at the factory, not generally open to the public unfortunately! Are you located in Portugal?

[@mdvhonionscry9279]

Amazing.

[@scubatrucker6806]

Cool video 😍😍

[@anilshirsat4406]

Being Biochemist ,I find interest in how you make stoppers from tree bark👍.

[@ecocorkaus]

Us too! have you seen all of the other types of things made with cork??

[@OlivierSuire]

I'm curious about the nature of the binder resin or glue that agglomerates the cork grains

[@ecocorkaus]

Hello and thanks for the comment and question. In some cases a polyurethane adhesive is used, however for some products, cork has an amazing ability through specific technology to be heated up to a particular temperature where the cells in the cork actually release an adhesive substance that then adheres itself back together again!

[@kaygee301]

@@ecocorkaus how does the consumer know what process was used for their product?

[@ecocorkaus]

@@kaygee301 unfortunately you can't tell by looking at it, these are secrets from within the industry! If you are asking the question about a specific product please let us know and we will find out for you!

[@Luckingsworth]

That is also what I keep trying to learn. I would lile to know more about the ability of heat to adhere cork to itself with no outside chemicals. Too many products are claimed to be sustainable or natural but rely on petrochemical based adhesives.

[@MenkoDany]

It's funny how cork bark, which is the tree's protection against fire, is then used as fuel for a power plant

[@briandeis9749]

Is YOUR product available in the US?

[@ecocorkaus]

Hello! Unfortunately, not our exact products, however there will be variations made with Cork available in the US. We would recommend emailing AMORIM (in Portugal) for your nearest distributor of cork products. Thanks for your support!

[@briandeis9749]

Thank you! We love cork!

[@mistersir3020]

What binds the cork granules in all those applications?

[@ecocorkaus]

Hello thanks for the questions. Some applications a polyurethane binder is user however in some cases cork releases its own adhesive that can be used to bond it back together again :) Hope this answers your question!

[@chloehennessey6813]

Multiple different. Hi sir. We are from the Department of Redundancy Department.

[@zvotaisvfi8678]

wow super cool

[@zvotaisvfi8678]

god is good what with the cork trees

[@Duck-wc9de]

The widow of the old owner of the company he is visiting is the richest person in Portugal. And she is the only billionaire in the country.

[@goodtobehandy]

Now when someone says, put a cork in it. I'll be able to tell how it's done.

[@ecocorkaus]

hahah so very true! They then might need an even bigger cork to stop you from telling them all about it!

[@shownowt]

you are skinned alive every 7-9 years but you get to live for 250..would you take that deal?

[@ecocorkaus]

Yes absolutely because don't think of it as 'skin'. It doesn't cause any negative effects on the tree. Think of it more like unzipping a jacket that is now too tight and suffocating you!

[@timotiusyap8787]

here I am trying to find out what a cork is and how is a birkenstock sandals are made..LOL

[@ecocorkaus]

😄amazing the rabbit hole you can go down! This will tell you at least where the comfy sole of the shoe comes from at least!

[@mytrickpeony]

My understanding is that Birkenstock shoes are made of cork granules bound together with liquid latex, jute and leather. The outer sole is a mix of synthetic rubber and natural rubber latex/NRL.

[@mikemascaro4301]

@@mytrickpeony good info, thanks!

[@redwoodzzz]

@@mytrickpeony I’m allergic to latex so that explains why I get a nasty rash when I wear these shoes 😞

[@theboxingreviews]

now lets see how china copies the process

[@ecocorkaus]

Hehe the best thing about it is they can’t. First because they don’t have cork or cork tree’s. (They get the rejected cork from Portugal so the quality is terrible). Secondly, this is the only company in the world with the technology! 🙌

[@jacquesmertens3369]

Cork trees could easily grow in Australia. Just saying.

[@ecocorkaus]

Absolutely they could. We just need a lot of land, and a 35-40 year plan :( (They have tried to grow them in Australia, but they don't grow as well, then we don't have the machinery to produce materials with it yet)

[@jacquesmertens3369]

@@ecocorkaus Not enough land in Australia? You sound like someone from the North Pole who says it isn't easy to produce ice cream because it requires a lot of ice. There's a famous cork tree in Tenterfield that has been there since 1861. It never required any special care. What you need is a few Portuguese with the right experience, willing to emigrate to Australia, and a lot of government subsidies. There has never been a better time to ask for subsidies for eco-friendly projects.

[@ecocorkaus]

@@jacquesmertens3369 hehe thats very true, plenty of land here, if only someone would donate some! We have approached the government and they are not interested. The benefits are 'too far away' in their opinion. It is a bit of shame. The biggest challenge would be that the technology used to process the cork is only known by a few companies in Portugal and the type of information that IP gathered over many years. We wish it were more simple, it wont stop us from continually trying!

[@Duck-wc9de]

Cork trees take lots of decades to start producing cork. And each one can only be harvasted once in every 9 years. This tree is very regulated in Portugal, actually, you need a permit to even cut branches of a cork oak. if you wonder arround the portuguese south you will see random oaks in the middle of crops because it jsut costed to much to remove the tree. So, as it takes a lot of time, it migth be less expensive to just buy from an historic producer that has the process optimized, providing you with a cheaper product. That's gobalization for y'all baby!

[@ابراهيمحمد-ر5ك]

I want the factory phone number ​@@ecocorkaus

[@alexanderskrabacz3277]

fellow birkenstocks customers let’s see them likes B)

[@ecocorkaus]

i don't have any but gave you a like! a few people have made the Birkenstocks connection!