Why Cork?

Since the cofounders of Capri have had cork design and sales experience dating back to the 1990s, it was a given from the start that cork would be a cornerstone of the Capri product offerings. Eager to share our extensive cork knowledge, we have highlighted the remarkable qualities and unique benefits of cork in an effort to answer “Why Cork” is suitable for a wide range of commercial spaces.

Grown in the Mediterranean Basin, the cork oak tree, Quercus Suber, has a life span of over 200 years. Cork is 100% natural and is a fully recyclable material. With a role in CO2 sequestration, cork serves as a barrier to climate change. Cork’s carbon retention potential is 50 to 70 tons of CO2 per ton of cork. Cork harvesting has no negative environmental impact.

Cork is a naturally versatile, durable, sound reducing, insulating, antimicrobial & anti-fungal rapidly renewable raw material.

Versatile: Cork has a wide variety of uses including – wine stoppers, fishing bobbers, hat liners, shoe soles, life preservers, engine gaskets, floor and wall tile.

Durable: Cork’s closed cell structure enables it to compress and recover quickly. This characteristic offers comfort underfoot especially when compared to other flooring products. Also, due to the closed cell structure, cork does not easily absorb liquid; in fact, cork floats. This closed cell structure is what makes cork floor tiles durable and able to be installed in high traffic areas. As history has proven, well-maintained cork floors can last decades.

Sound-reducing: Since cork is 50% air by volume, it is an excellent sound insulator. When tested in accordance with ASTM C423, our Mediterra 2.0 cork tiles have a NRC of 0.05, which indicates 5% reduction in sound. When tested in accordance with ASTM E2179, our Eco-Clicks cork floating floor planks have a Delta IIC rating of 24.

Insulating: Again, since cork is 50% air by volume, it is also a thermal insulator. When tested in accordance with ASTM C518, our cork products have a R value of 0.7–1.01, which is similar to 1″ plywood, 6″ concrete and carpet with a pad.

Antimicrobial: Capri conducted an antimicrobial assessment via ASTM E2180. Our testing showed cork reduced Staph and Pneumonia strains by over 99%. These results confirm that cork will not contribute to the growth and reproduction of bacteria and will actually aid in the destruction of bacteria over a 24 hour period.

Anti-fungal: Capri also conducted an anti-fungal assessment via ASTM G21. After 1 week the cork tiles had no fungal growth. From weeks 2-4 only trace levels of growth were seen (less than 10%) and were so minimal they were only visible under a microscope.

Rapidly Renewable Raw Material: The cork bark regenerates itself within 9-year cycles.

For more details, please refer to The Unique Properties of Cork Technical Bulletin in the Document Library.