When you hear the term Vegan Leather and instantly think this is the greenest alternative to real leather, be aware this only means the leather has been created without any animal products. However, one of the most common materials to create faux leather or fake leather is actually plastic.
There are rather few alternatives to plastic to create fake leather, one of them being cork. We briefly talked about cork in this article, but I think it deserves more attention due to its great properties and especially in the context of cork leather (also known as cork textile or fabric).
Coming back to vegan leather made from plastic (PVC, PU), it often has a weird smell, is less breathable, and is not too resistant to heat. It is therefore of lower quality and also much less durable compared to real leather. Cork leather on the other hand is known to be the most natural and durable in the market and has all the benefits of animal leather.
The source and harvesting
Cork is harvested from cork oak trees that grow in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The cork oak forests in Southern Europe play an important role in maintaining biodiversity, regulating water cycles, as well as preventing the spread of desertification.
It takes 25 years to get the first harvest and the following harvests are happening after every 9 years. It does not harm the tree, on the contrary, it helps to extend the cork oak life span. Once the cork oak has reached its maturity you can harvest it during the next 150 years which gives about 15 bark harvests in total. The cork oak’s capacity for regeneration is significant, even without using chemical herbicides, fertilizers, or irrigation.
The first two harvests do not produce very good quality cork. Only the third one gives material that is smooth outside and inside and is great for industrial use.
Cork harvesting is an ancient procedure and should only be done by experts as otherwise, you may damage the tree.
Production
As mentioned before, during the growth no pesticides or fertilizers are being used nor are the trees ever watered. The same approach applies to the treatment after the harvest – less is more.
Cork leather is produced from very fine laminated sheets of cork (usually with a thickness of 50-500 μm). They are being produced by first boiling the pallets in huge tanks. The water is being reused several times so big quantities are not used. The boiling process helps to kill fungus and bacteria which may be present due to no pesticides used before the harvest. It also helps the cork to be flattened further as there is no other machinery nor chemical treatment being used for it.
The water used for boiling will be normal wastewater without any pollutants in it. It means no special treatment is needed to clean it after its use.
The cork then needs to rest until two to four months to dry properly after which they are cut into regular pieces or blocks. These blocks are being cut into three layers and for the leather, only the middle section is being used. It is the densest and has the best quality. The middle section is layered once again to give the material a classical look of textile or leather.
Next, the thin slices of cork need backing as otherwise, they will easily break. Now, this is the key part to know whether the product you buy is actually vegan or bio-degradable and/or eco-friendly. You can use natural materials for backing (e.g. cotton, real leather) or for example polyamides or again cotton mixed or layered with polyutherane (PU). When purchasing a product, pay attention to whether the producers are transparent about their manufacturing process and about materials used. When using cotton, it is also important that water-based glues are being used to attach the cork to the textile.
Sometimes plant-based dyes are being used to make cork leather colored.
Characteristics and uses
As mentioned before, cork leather is very durable and lasts for years. Compared to natural leather it is also water- and flame resistant, as well as hypoallergenic. This of course will not apply in case plastic was used in the backing process.
Cork behaves still very much like natural leather: it is shiny, soft, and smooth to touch, the material stretches and improves over time.
There is no need to use any waxes or chemical cremes/sprays for its treatment. You can just use a piece of cloth and water and soap if needed.
There is a variety of products that can be created from cork leather, to name a few:
- bags and wallets
- shoes
- accents on clothing
- jewelry
- applique/embroidery
- upholstery
- labels, etc.
Material of the future?
The use of cork goes back thousands of years. It was used mainly for stoppers for amphoras and jugs, footwear, building beehives, making floats for fishing nets, and as insulation from the cold and damp.
However, it became known worldwide due to its use for bottle stoppers and these remain the main cork market to this day. The second-largest cork market is the building industry (thermal, acoustic, and vibration insulators; suspended ceilings; wall coverings, etc.)
In the 1990s cork industry had a moment of crisis when different synthetic materials came around. However, the image of the cork changed yet again when sustainability made its way to people’s consciousness. It became clear it cork has a huge potential as an eco-friendly material for different everyday products.
As mentioned before, the harvesting and production cycle of cork is very harmless. There are no pesticides being used in the growth period and there is no toxic wastewater being created during the production cycle. Now, it is often not totally plastic-free due to its backing process, but there are entirely bio-degradable cork leather products out there. Taking into consideration the entire sourcing and production process, it is definitely much less harmful than almost any textile used for clothing. See more about this topic here.
Once greener and more eco-friendly materials and techniques will be integrated into the backing process, we can say for sure that cork leather is the least harmful leather alternative out there. It probably already is though (unless you prove me wrong in the comments).