What is cork made from?

Cork may look like a fabric or foam, but it's actually 100% natural! Handled with great care, cork is made from the harvested bark of cork oak trees, specifically a species known as Quercus suber.

Cork oak trees are typically found in the Mediterranean, largely in Portugal and Spain, where they thrive in the moist, deep soils of winter and the warm, dry climate of summer. The result is incredible cork oak forests, ripe for harvesting.

The bark itself consists of lignin and polysaccharides. These elements give cork its unique, natural “superpowers” — lightweight, buoyant, elastic, heat-resistant, and sound-resistant.

Its main ingredient, however, is suberin. Suberin is a complex fatty acid substance found within the cells of cork that makes it naturally waterproof. Yes — that means all of our cork bags and accessories are naturally water-resistant! Nature is amazing, isn’t it?

Did you know that about 50% of cork's volume is actually made up of air? Its honeycomb-like cellular structure consists of trapped air pockets, giving cork its lightweight and buoyant properties.

What is cork made from?

Key properties:

Light & Floatable: Trapped air within cork's cellular structure makes it extremely lightweight and allows it to float.

Waterproof: Cork's high suberin content makes it airtight to liquids and gases.

Elastic & Flexible: Cork can be compressed and naturally rebounds without losing its form.

Heat & Sound Resistant: The trapped air within cork’s natural cellular design provides excellent insulation against heat and sound.

Naturally Fireproof: Cork’s cells are packed with suberin, a fatty acid substance highly resistant to burning. Its honeycomb structure gives it low thermal conductivity, causing it to char slowly and form a protective barrier against fire without releasing toxic gases or smoke.

Renewable & Recyclable: Cork is created when the bark is stripped from cork oak trees — a process that does not harm the tree. Once mature, a tree can be harvested multiple times throughout its life. The bark regenerates every 9–14 years, making cork a completely natural, renewable, and recyclable resource.

From tree to accessory, cork is a natural material full of incredible properties — lightweight, waterproof, durable, and eco-friendly. Every bag and accessory we create celebrates the amazing versatility of cork, giving you style that’s as kind to the planet as it is to you.

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