Where are our products made?
Running a sustainable, transparent and ethical business is extremely important to us and we are committed to long term investment towards this goal.
Since our launch in 2018, we have been fortunate to see our small business grow. We’ve gone from operating out of our spare room in Melbourne to warehouses in London and Sydney and customers across Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Europe.
While all this change is exciting(!) we’re conscious that in periods of growth, it’s especially important for brands to stay true to their commitments towards sustainability, transparency and ethics.
This year we made the decision to move away from our original suppliers to new harvesting and manufacturing partners. One of the the main reasons behind the move was to find long term partners that we could work with to get full visibility on our supply chain and carbon footprint.
Where are our products made?
Our cork is grown in a Portuguese forest (known as a montado) certified by the National Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The cork is harvested using traditional methods, supporting the development of local economies and farmers. The raw materials are processed in Portugal and then travel to Romania, where they’re turned into our finished product.
50% of the world’s cork is produced in Portugal and this affords small businesses like ours high quality products at good prices. Quality is everything to us, and we want to make sure we give you the best product at the best price.
Cork harvesting and production
The cork trees grow without the use of any chemical herbicides or fertilisers and they don’t require irrigation. The trees live for around 200 years and are harvested every 9 to 12 years. Once harvested, the trees actually absorb CO2 five times faster (you can read more about that in our five reasons to love cork blog). For a little perspective, around 1.5 hectares of cork forest absorbs the same annual emissions as an average car produces.
Illustration by Franciso Quirino for APCOR
The WWF have named the harvesting of cork as one of the most sustainable agricultural practices in the world. It’s performed by highly skilled specialists who have passed their craft down through generations. Portuguese cork farmers are paid well above the national minimum wage for their skills.
Image source: moralfibres.co.uk
Supply chain certification and sustainability
Our cork producer in Portugal is certified to ISO 9001 Quality Management System standards. Along with the FSC certification, this represents their commitment to sustainability, quality, continual improvement and conformity to statutory and regulatory requirements.
Cork is 100% recyclable and our factory makes use of 100% of raw materials. Cork scraps and offcuts are turned into granules and later combined with non-toxic binding agents to create new products. Even the excess cork dust generated in production is collected and re-used as part of the factory’s heating system. If cork products are not recycled at the end of their lifetime, they’re highly biodegradable and if reduced to small enough pieces, even compostable.
“Even excess cork dust is collected and re-used as part of the factory’s heating system.”
The facility in Romania operates in accordance with the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) system of accountability which ensures:
Compliance with nationally applicable laws.
Freedom of assembly and collective bargaining rights.
Prohibition of any discrimination.
Compliance with legal minimum wages.
Clear rules and procedures for health and safety in the workplace.
Prohibition of forced labour or child labour.
Compliance with minimum requirements for waste management, emissions and wastewater treatment.
The finished product arrives in our warehouse in London completely plastic-free. However, our pallets require shrink-wrap to make their journey to our warehouse in Sydney safely. We’ve used plastic in our most recent shipment but after using Better Packaging Co. compostable mailers since our initial launch in 2018, we are working with our factory to swap the existing plastic wrap for compostable wrap as soon as possible.
Next steps
Pandemic-permitting, we hope to visit facilities in both Portugal and Romania in the near future. We are also working towards a system for tracking and offsetting our carbon emissions.
Watch this space for more updates coming soon! If you have any recommendations or want to discuss our approach further, don’t hesitate to get in touch.