Insulating, sound-proof, lightweight, good-looking: the bark of the evergreen oak Quercus suber has been used for millennia as a construction material.

Made in Phoenix, green cork spray is an exterior coating similar to paint. Cork is the outer bark of the cork oak tree. According to Green Cork Products Founding Partner Randy Bailey, cork is 100 percent natural and recyclable. Green cork spray is a sustainable, more cost-effective alternative to cement-based stucco. 

Using advanced engineering and special design techniques the Värmdö kayak (named after the largest island in the Stockholm archipelago) uses a cork agglomerate material* specifically designed for composite applications requiring strength, lightness, thermal insulation, and vibration control.

Prized for the lightweight, elastic bark, cork oaks can also store large amounts of carbon during their long lifetimes. Now there are moves to find new uses for this material.

The exemption for cork was accomplished through concerted efforts involving a number of groups. The Natural Cork Council worked with the Portuguese Embassy and their economic attaché, and with agencies in Washington including AICEP, the Portuguese Trade and Investment Agency. On the other side of the Atlantic, APCOR, the Portuguese cork association, worked with negotiators from Portugal who were represented at EU headquarters who pushed EU negotiators to add cork to the framework agreement.

Thanks to the recent installation of cork-rubber composite rail pads from Dutch company Alom and Amorim Cork Solutions, vibrations and noise have been considerably reduced for residents.