PAGE
By Cassell Ferere originally published on Forbes.com
Portugal has been a place for fashion manufacturing for some time now. What they are also well known for is their use and manufacturing of the natural Cork material they earnestly harvest from Cork Oak trees.
One Cork Oak can yield about 100 pounds of cork bark when ripe, which takes place every nine years. While the tree itself can live up to 200 years, the harvesting does not harm the tree, and trees are marked to ensure proper harvesting.
A lot of what Portugal has to offer is made from biodegradable, renewable resource cork, doubling down on making everyday items. Fashion brands and textile companies have found ways to apply the material to a plethora of garments and other fashion and lifestyle products, as well as in their design aesthetic.
We associate cork with the first and last thought when celebrating with wine or champagne. Thatโs only a surface level view of what cork has been doing for the fashion industry and other industries for years.
Cork is an underrated material, and itโs no wonder that many things associated with using cork go unnoticed. Cork keeps our beverages fresh and can be molded into insulation as well as softening shoe beds. The latter may be something more familiar to those who wear Birkenstock.
Birkenstock has been using the cork footbed for the longest time now, about 250 years. Only recently, in 1930, did they coin the โfootbedโ term. This term has become synonymous with the cork โfootbedโ that provides all the cushion for walking in a pair of Birkenstock sandals.
Marita Morena handbags made with cork material at MODtissimo.
One Portuguese brand that has been doubling down on cork products made in Portugal is Marita Morena. Designer and namesake Marita Morena has uniquely manifested cork products with versatility in her designs and the application of the cork material.
Morenaโs handbags made almost entirely from cork have the ability to roll up into a cylinder shape for storage. What cork provides is a sturdy material that one can stow away and pop out with it looking fresh when needed.
Marita Morena is also using cork in the shoe beds of their shoe designs but has also applied them to the shoeโs upper portion. Morena uses the cork as the entire upper or as a texture that is applied to microfiber textiles as a textured-finish on shoe designs and handbagsโฆ