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Years ago, before Covid, I got this one as a present: https://www.corkor.com/en-se/collections/cork-briefcases/products/cork-messenger-bag
Loved it, the material has a super nice feel, lools great.
However, during the pandemic, so at least like 3 years in (beyond the warranty) one of the belt loops at the bag ripped straight off. I don’t know if that is just to be expected with strain on cork or if it was just an accidental thing happening.
I definitely would get something more from them, but maybe not something that “hangs” and gets strained over time. Might have been coincidental of course.
Yeah, that’s what I thought when seeing those… But hopefully belts, wallets and mouse pads are better uses of the material :)
I love seeing these plant based biodegradable products. This is the future. We need more stuff like this!
Does anyone here know of any site that compiles and lists similar companies/brands that use biodegradable materials?
I’d really like to start phasing out my stuff to more sustainable stuff as my current stuff wears out and breaks.
As somebody who likes to do leatherworking, I love this, I’d love to see if I could get some samples of the processed cork. I’ve been a little obsessed with true vegan leather (i.e. plant, fungus based stuff and not just crappy plastic stuff, things like this cork, dried SCOBY etc.).
One thing I do find a little disingenuous though is their message that it is a “cruelty free alternative to leather”. I’m totally for vegan alternatives and that vegans are not going to be happy with products from dead animals but to imply that leather is somehow harmful is weird to me and a bit unfair. At least at the moment with current meat demands and for the forseeable future it is a byproduct of the meat industry (and before somebody comments, yes I’m aware that some organisations like PETA claim it is a co-product and also driving the worth of the animal and industry but realistically it is such a tiny portion of the animals worth and a huge proportion of animal hide is wasted and unused). If we hit some kind of tipping point with meat reduction and it starts to actually drive people to raise animals for the purpose of getting worth out of the leather, sure, but I’m not against that, I love to see more initiatives to find a decent alternative to leather for all kinds of different reasons but a lot of these companies like to keep that for themselves for their own finished products.
And this is why I find the statement disingenuous, because if they really were against what they see as animal cruelty in leather production then they wouldn’t keep the material entirely in-house for their own profit. So either the material itself isn’t sustainable for larger scale production or they are just virtue signalling and profiting.
Edit: did some more research as the material genuinely interests me and found this UK based company that also sell cork ‘leather’ products. https://www.thecorkcompany.co.uk/
Edit edit: I may have been too hasty in my opinion, did some more research and found some cork leather/fabric suppliers so it seems more that its just how they word it that makes it sound like they came up with the process. I do stand by my dislike of claiming that leather itself is cruel.
Edit edit edit: ok so it seems most of the supply is just like other vegan leather. PU backed rubbish. I did find some cotton backed ones but if it needs backing then its just not a real leather alternative.
