Source: Treehugger

cork

Mobi cork wallets

If you’d like to get the junk out of your back pocket or purse, consider downsizing into a wallet such as this one, which holds just the essentials.

We love cork. It’s a great renewable material for everything from insulation to furniture to shoes to flooring, and cork oak forests, located mainly in Portugal and Spain, are not only sustainable sources of income for the communities which surround them, but also serve as important biodiversity hotspots in their regions.

While cork does have its limitations (both in terms of the qualities of the material itself and the global supply of it), it remains a viable and sustainable material for a wide range of applications. I believe that, just as with hemp, we’re only beginning to see the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to innovating with both virgin cork and recycled cork, and that as talented designers start to focus more of their attention on cork as a raw material, we’ll be seeing a grand cork renaissance in the years to come.

One of the advantages of cork is that it can be sliced very thinly, giving it a soft and supple fabric-like feel, while still retaining a leather-like toughness and natural water resistance, which makes it a perfect alternative material to leather for making wallets and other personal goods.

I previously covered the launch of designer Arash Malek’s Subrr line of minimalist wallets last year, and although the crowdfunding goal wasn’t reached for that particular campaign, the wallets are being produced and are available for sale through the company’s website. Subrr has just released a new design for another minimalist cork wallet, but this time without using any stitching whatsoever, and instead relying on four brass rivets to hold it all together.

Read more @ Treehugger