Cork harvesting. A way of life

Elou Cork Toys are made from the bark of the cork tree, one of the most sustainable and natural materials known to man. Grown extensively across Portugal, the country produces 80% of the world’s cork, with cork farming an important economic backbone to many rural communities. Harvested every 9 years, a cork tree will live for 150 years. No cork trees are felled in the process. The harvesting or ‘stripping’ of cork is meticulously undertaken – axes are used to prise the cork bark from its tree. Once removed, the cork bark is stacked onto vehicles and moved to an exposed external location to dry out. Thereafter, cork not selected for making into cork stoppers is broken down and used in the manufacturing of a wide range of products including Elou Cork Toys.

Cork is a unique material. No other material matches its simultaneous features:

  • Sustainable & low carbon footprint
  • Excellent thermal and acoustic insulation
  • Impermeable to liquids and gases
  • Excellent resistance to to fire and high temperatures,
  • High friction resistance, excellent elasticity and compressibility
  • Extremely light and buoyant: cork weighs 0.16g per cm3
  • Hypoallergenic: cork helps in the prevention of allergies
  • Comfortable to touch and walk on