Reasons Why Cork Belts are both Ethical and Sustainable

Are looking to add to or make your style game with the best natural non leather belt product in 2022?  If so, shopping for cork belts that are organically produced, and sustainable belt may be just for you.  Search for a new cork belt and it may be like one of your best options to shop for yourself or give as a gift to a friend so become a best customer of Cruelty Free Belts. Cork belts are vegan, cruelty free, and thus an excellent product for any customer shopping for a belt in 2022 who is looking or search to make the right difference by opting for a sustainable belt option. A good manufacturer for a belt is Corkor; Corkor like belts are the best and are both stylish and add durability, so get your search on and shop for a new Corkor vegan belt today and make shipping to your residence by clicking here to visit Cruelty Free Belts Cork Belts Page.  A Corkor vegan belt may also make the best gift idea.

A Corkor vegan belt is a handmade product and comes in like three pieces or less, cruelty free, and shipping can even be free when you shop. They look classy, sophisticated, and better than a traditional animal belt. The only difference? Unlike other belts, these belts do not add or include any animal cruelty and are 100% vegan cruelty free, which may make an ethical person a happy shopping customer.  So, search for and wear your belt with confidence knowing that you make a difference like a cruelty free customer will.

Your most average belt will feature three different layers. The first one would act like the PU’s base, just above it you have a belt lining, and the uppermost layer features your cork belt with the sophisticated finish. The materials are perfectly bonded and add stitching for maximum durability. And given your belt style and fashion search requirements as a customer, you will probably get a cork belt in all possible styles and cruelty free designs.

But what is a cork belt in the first place and what is the cruelty free manufacturing process of cork belts? We will learn all that and more in the following few sections.

Cork belts – The basics

If you didn’t already know, this material is a highly sustainable material that is taken from oak tree barks. It has been observed that cork naturally thrives over nine to 15 years. What’s more, they are friendly to the environment and the best most sustainable option.

Even before it was used in producing belts, the material was best leveraged to create wine like stubble. However, processes have evolved over the last couple of years enabling cork belt to make a substance that appears and feels more like a different kind of best belt to a customer. These types of cork undergo rigorous manufacturing processes to create the right product and the right finish.

What’s more, you also get fabric belts that are just as eco-friendly, equally sustainable, may make a great gift idea, cruelty free, and come in a variety of belt size. Owing to its massive popularity, a large chunk of manufacturers is using this in 2022.

Origin before Cork Belts

At this point, you may want to know how cork was first harvested in the first place. For the unversed, the material has been in use for the last 5,000 years. Initially, it was used to seal items, particularly like the ones with wine and other ale. It is believed that cork-product was first found by an Amphora who used the material to seal a wine bottle that may last several years.  It wasn’t until much later that this material was being made into a belt.

During the earlier days, the Greeks too leveraged the product to build sandals and the Chinese decided to use it as fishing gear. According to historical evidence, people living in Babylon did the same. Because of the material’s many benefits, the Babylonians tried to reserve it by creating stringent protection for their oak tree forests. However, it only came to the forefront in the 18th century. At this time, the production skyrocketed, and it was highly commercially customer available.

Over time, the wine and alcohol industry evolved, and they continued to thrive thanks to high-quality cork stoppers. However, this would only last until the 20th Century. During this period, several wine manufacturers in Australia were uncomfortable with the overall taste of corked wine. They even assumed that they were produced at inferior quality for customers so that the New World Wine influx takes a standstill.

They were not quite wrong, because the original high-quality cork-material was quickly replaced by their plastic and synthetic counterparts. Until the last decade, even Australia joined hands with New Zealand to produce these cheaper variants of corks. Immediately after, America and several European countries went by the same route to produce a cheaper belt that was not the best.

The result? The customer demand for cork declined significantly and massive oak forests were deliberately destroyed. However, all is not lost because this quickly led to a renewed enthusiasm among wine connoisseurs, who wanted real, high-quality material this time. With the advent of veganism, this type of material free of real leather soon replicated conventional and established a household name in the fashion belt industry, and now you can search and may be able to get almost any belt size that best fits.

Corkor Belts Manufacturing

Now that you know what cork-material is and where it comes from, you are probably wondering how the production process might seem like. As you would probably guess, the process is extensive, detailed, and highly intricate.

The cork derived from oak trees requires at least two and a half decades to mature. Before this point, you cannot harvest the tree. The highest quality variant of the material is found in the oak trees of Portugal. There it is known to reach the loftiest heights of up to 20 meters. Currently, both Portugal and Spain produce the best high-quality genuine material and the overall global production of the material is at least 200,000 tons.

Next, after the tree assumes maturity, it gains a circumference of 60cm, and the bark is removed at this point. Following this harvest, it takes several years for the oak to redevelop to produce more material. This is one of the main reasons why oak trees are harvested only once in nine to 15 years. The material typically has an average lifespan of 300 years, so your cork belt is likely to outpace you, so your search won’t be in vain. Usually, it is believed that the initial harvest is weaker than the latter harvests.

Individuals specializing in extracting corks are quite evidently known as extractors. When you attempt to harvest the plant with an extremely sharp ax, even the smallest cut should be horizontal, and the height should be twice the circumference of the oak tree. This is followed by multiple vertical cuts that enable removing directly from the tree. While cutting the tree with the ax, the professional extractor ensures that the phellogen and the tree are fully undamaged.

Next, we come to the corkboards that are manually removed. This is predominantly followed as a best practice. When the material is finally harvested it is kept in a factory/forest making way for conventional during. Over the next six years, it is air-dried. Following that, it is loaded in a truck and directly moved through to processors.

By the time it reaches this point, the material is properly steamed so that the resultant product is high-quality and elastic. The press withstands high levels of heat and extreme pressure. This is then created into smaller blocks which you later slice thinly. Finally, this material will let you create almost any type of accessory crafted like a belt. Unlike conventional leather, this type of leather free material doesn’t undergo extensive manufacturing or constant chemical processing. The overall technique is simple and highly organic.

Many people in their search as a potential customer do not shop for a cork belt even if they come in their belt size assuming they would tear or crumble at some point. However, this is far from reality thanks to the extensive manufacturing process. Because of the stringent manufacturing, the resultant product is flexible and extremely thin but durable. Sharing the same features as conventional, this is an excellent alternative and can be leveraged in all possible ways.

Once the material is ready, manufacturers like Corkor dye it until the final material is created. This leaves you with exceptional designs that are usually evident in a Corkor vegan leather free belt.

This material is a high-quality, eco-friendly, cruelty free, and the best sustainable alternative that is directly derived from oak trees. The unique aspect of a cork oak tree, in particular, is the fact that its outer bark is quickly regenerated. When the tree matures for two and a half decades, you can get rid of the material. This wouldn’t damage the initial tree at any stage.

This material is extremely durable, and you will find several shared traits in its appearance when compared to traditional material.  With regard to belts the belt size is same as a genuine cruel animal belt but is cruelty free. What’s more, these products are eco-friendly, won’t cause you any allergy, are resistant to water, and resistant to stains as well. Even if you accidentally stain it, the issue can be easily fixed with a simple wash.  If you’d like to read more great information about Cork Belts Manufacturing, we suggest reading: “Benefits and Manufacturing Process of Cork and Cork Belts.“

How are the Best Corkor Belts Made?

As you probably know, making cork requires tons of patience. First, you need to wait until the tree assumes maturity. After this point, you can start harvesting the bark as your first attempt. Unfortunately, this first harvest is often deemed of inferior quality to the second and third harvests and this is partially true. Following the first harvest, you need to wait at least nine years until you get to use the material again to make belt and other products.

Once the oak tree is harvested, it will easily absorb carbon-dioxide, probably at even a higher rate. It is believed that most cork oaks take in three to five times of the Co2 when compared to unharvested variants.

After the bark of the cork is separated from the tree, the material is allowed to dry for six months. Immediately following this, the material is well-steamed for the elasticity you would otherwise need in the belt. Next, the cork blocks are separated as thin sheets and each of them comes with three layers as discussed earlier. The final product is highly durable, and you might want to use it to make any kind of customer fashionable item.

As you perhaps know at this point, the majority of manufacturers come from Portugal. In fact, more than half of the global material produced is extracted from there, thanks to the Country’s sprawling oak trees. Because Portugal is a dry country with a temperate climate, it is typically easier for oak trees to thrive. Even though they are at the risk of catching fires, cork oak doesn’t burn as fast thanks to its multiple layers.

After harvesting the cork, manufacturers spend the next six months drying it out. The same thing applies to almost all corks made for high-quality fashion accessories or wine. The longer it is dried the better the quality.

Watch the YouTube Video below to see the removal and beginning of manufacturing process: