The manufacturers of natural cork advertise with the image of naturalness. But how natural is it really? And how sustainable is its production? Raffaella Usai asked.

Cork is one of the most versatile and sustainable natural materials on the planet. Pliable, impermeable, durable, and soft to the touch, cork bark and cork skin are used in the manufacture of a bewildering array of items. But apart from wine stoppers, what else is cork used for? 

Browse the gallery and uncork some incredible facts about this amazing product. 

The outsole is made from cork, and the entire shoe is designed to be compostable at the end of its life – returning nutrients to the soil rather than clogging landfills.

• Natural wine corks are compostable after removing any metal foil and other materials.

• To speed up the decomposition process, the corks should be chopped up.

• Corks are brown composting material; add nitrogen-rich green material for balance.

"After being approached by Zero to design a sustainable pendant, we immediately began researching with a clear set of criteria: the lamp should be crafted from a single, renewable material, be versatile and durable, and produced using energy-efficient manufacturing processes," said Wilkinson.

Cork, harvested from the bark of cork oak trees, is a critical component for the wine industry. The Mediterranean basin, and Portugal in particular, dominates global cork production. Portugal supplies about half of the world’s cork, and the U.S. is its second-largest market after France. In 2023, the U.S. imported $241 million worth of cork from Portugal, with more than 70% used as stoppers for wine, spirits, olive oil, honey, and other liquids.