100% Cork | Produced by Nature. Preferred by Winemakers
SAN FRANCISCO | Business Wire | April 1, 2015 – For the second year, 100% Cork, a global campaign to raise awareness of cork’s environmental benefits, is providing a free opportunity for anyone to help plant cork saplings. The Earth Day social media campaign runs now through April 22, and each time someone “Likes,” “Shares” or “Follows” 100% Cork on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, 100% Cork will donate a cork oak sapling to be planted in Melgaco, Portugal.
The campaign is being run in partnership with two Portugal-based organizations. Common Forest is an initiative aimed at preserving and protecting cork oak forests in Portugal and Green Cork is a cork recycling project, both are of the country’s biggest environmental organization QUERCUS-Associacao Nacional de Conservacao da Natureza. The saplings will be planted in Northern Portugal beginning in October.
There are some 6.6 million acres of biodiverse cork oak forests in the Mediterranean Basin, which are widely recognized as one of the most important ecosystems in the world. These cork oak forests serve dual purposes, providing a refuge for endangered species and capturing a significant 14.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. That’s an offset of 113.5 grams of carbon dioxide every time you purchase a bottle of wine sealed with recyclable, renewable natural cork.
Despite popular belief, there is no shortage of cork. Cork is harvested by highly skilled craftsmen who carefully peel the bark from the oaks. Only mature oaks are harvested, and their bark is stripped away about every nine years after that. Oaks can live for more than 200 years, and during each harvest a single tree can yield up to 130 pounds of cork used for wine stoppers, shoes, flooring, insulation and more.
“When we plant a cork oak, we know that we’ll never sit under its shadow. Like all that is truly good, it takes time,” Paulo Magalhaes, Coordinator of Green Cork and Common Forest. “So, we also know that it is the best legacy we can leave to the next generation.”
João Ferreira, president of the Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR), stated, “We are pleased to participate again in this very positive Earth Day event. Last year’s campaign was hugely successful. We quickly reached more than 500 “likes,” on our Facebook page, which not only resulted in the planting of 500 cork saplings, but also helped to educate our more than 100,000 Facebook followers about the environmental benefits of cork.”
Help the Environment, Plant a Cork Tree!
Who: Anyone who likes, shares or follows 100% Cork on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
https://www.facebook.com/100PercentCork
http://instagram.com/100percentcork
https://twitter.com/100percentcork
What: For every “Like,” “Share,” or “Follow” on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, 100% Cork will donate a cork oak sapling. (No cost to participants.) Participants should continue to post all things cork on Instagram using #100percentcork or #PlantATree.
When: Now through April 22, 2015.
Where: Some cork oak saplings will be planted in Melgaco, Portugal, to be planted beginning in October, during the regular planting season.
About 100% Cork
100% Cork is a campaign to educate North American wine consumers, retailers and wineries about the benefits of choosing wine with natural cork closures because of cork’s environmental, technical and societal advantages.
About Common Forest
Common Forest (Floresta Comun) is an initiative to preserve and enhance the environmental benefits of Portuguese indigenous forests, including cork oak forests, which are the largest in terms of area and ecological importance. More information can be found at http://www.florestacomum.org/
About Green Cork
Green Cork recycles wine cork stoppers in Portugal and partners with Common Forest on cork oak forest preservation. Green Cork was developed in partnership with several entities, including Amorim, the world’s largest producer of cork products, wineries and wine producers in Portugal. More information can be found at http://www.greencork.org/
