The Environmental Friendliness of Cork Flooring

How Cork is Environmentally Friendly

Cork is considered an environmentally sound flooring material because only the outer bark of the cork tree is taken off to employ it as flooring, thus preserving the tree. As a result, cork flooring manufacturers do not have to continuously replant cork trees, and the environment profits because more trees are sustained, purifying the oxygen we breathe and cutting down on the CO2 which is warming our atmosphere.

Harvesting Cork Flooring Materials

Cork trees are commonly stripped of their bark once only every 8 years or so, to give the trees time to rejuvenate itself, so that our products are not produced at the expense of the wellbeing of our indispensable environs. Also, major planting projects, which can overcrowd ecosystems, drive out wildlife species, and throw of the ecological homeostasis of a local environments, are not required for our company to maintain the necessary supply of cork, because cork trees are known to live for up to 200 years¹.

Other Cork Sources

In addition to these eco-friendly aspects, parts of the cork used in our flooring comes from the recycling of wine corks. By using materials, destined for landfills, we are making the most of our resources at hand. Also, by helping reduce the amount of waste that goes into dumps and landfills, we preserve more areas for forests, and we cut down on the CO2 emissions released when such materials are left to rot. Finally, the pigments, varnishes and adhesives we use on our cork flooring are water-based, solvent-free and have no VOCs (volatile organic compounds)².

Web References:

¹ http://www.corkfloor.com/benefits.html
² http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html, http://www.corkfloor.com/benefits.html

The Environmental Friendliness of Cork Flooring

How Cork is Environmentally Friendly

Harvesting Cork Flooring Materials

Other Cork Sources

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