Cork Supply is committed to responsible stewardship of the Mediterranean forests that produce our corks. For centuries, alongside herbs, mushrooms and wild and domesticated animals and plants, skilled cork growers have sustainably harvested cork bark from delicately balanced montado (cork tree) forests, protecting what the WWF has called “one of the finest examples of a system which perfectly balances the needs of both humans and nature”. These stewards cultivated an ideal, renewable resource that supported their livelihoods and market demand without sacrificing their environment or the ability of future generations to follow in their footsteps.
Armed with this spirit of our predecessors plus the advantages of 21st century knowledge, innovation and collaboration, Cork Supply considers it an essential part of our mission to ensure we meet our generation's needs today in a manner that does not compromise our future generations' ability to meet their needs tomorrow.
As a leading supplier of natural cork, we want our customers and consumers to have complete assurance that natural corks supplied by Cork Supply are sustainably and ethically sourced. We consider our proactive role in this area especially necessary because, as the WWF verifies, montado cork forests:
Cork Supply USA has been awarded Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification through the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood program.
By upholding FSC and Rainforest Alliance standards, Cork Supply is both demonstrating our commitment to responsible management and conservation of our forests, and helping our winery partners meet their sustainability goals when it comes to packaging and to satisfying increasing market demand from retailers and consumers for eco-friendly brands and products.
In the U.S. and Canada, wineries can bottle and market their wines with natural corks from Cork Supply printed with the renowned symbols of FSC and Rainforest Alliance, assuring the marketplace that their wine brands choose to use responsibly sourced natural cork closures to seal their wines. Cork Supply customers can send a clear on-product message to the market: This wine is sealed with a premium quality, 100% natural, renewable, recyclable, biodegradable and sustainable cork that is FSC Certified and Rainforest Alliance Certified™ to be sourced from a responsibly managed forest.
The FSC, whose mission is to promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests, was established in 1993 by a collaboration of businesses and environmental groups, including the Rainforest Alliance — the world's leading FSC certifier of forestlands.
An independent, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, the FSC has established a globally recognized system of independent forest certification and product labeling that helps consumers identify timber and products from well-managed woodlands. The FSC Principles and Criteria are the only internationally valid standards for responsible forest management where social, environmental and industry interests carry the same weight. FSC principles for forest stewardship include recognition of indigenous peoples' rights, long-term economic viability, a sustainable environmental impact and protection of wildlife.
The FSC system is supported by numerous environmental organizations, including the World Wildlife Federation, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, as well as major companies, trade unions and social groups worldwide. For more information on the FSC, visit www.fsc.org.
The Rainforest Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. As the world's leading FSC forest management certifier, the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood program sets the international gold standard for credibility in auditing environmentally and socially responsible forestry. To learn more about Rainforest Alliance, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org.
Cork Supply operations in Portugal — which provide 100% of the natural corks Cork Supply sells around the world — are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Soil Association Woodmark (Woodmark) for making and trading in sustainable corks from responsibly managed forests.
The FSC is an independent, not for profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests. The FSC's rigorous criteria are the only internationally valid standards for responsible forest management that place equal emphasis on social, environmental and industry interests. To earn FSC certification, Cork Supply has demonstrated a proven commitment to indigenous peoples' rights, long-term economic viability, sustainable environmental impact and protection of wildlife.
FSC certification is part of a global program that also includes product labeling to help consumers identify products from responsibly managed woodlands. Cork Supply customers can use FSC-certified natural corks not only to help meet their winery's own sustainability goals, but also to communicate to retailers and consumers — via the globally recognized FSC trademark — that their wine has been sealed with a 100% natural, renewable, recyclable and biodegradable cork that was sustainably grown and harvested from a responsibly managed forest.
Cork Supply is encouraged in our FSC advocacy, both by steadily increasing consumer and business demand for natural and sustainable products and packaging, and by the increasing numbers of forests and companies undertaking the strict assessment and compliance requirements to achieve FSC certification. Though demand for FSC-certified cork currently outstrips supply, Cork Supply is working one-on-one with cork growers to increase the number of eligible and certified forests for future harvests.
The FSC system is supported by numerous environmental organizations, including WWF, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, as well as major companies, trade unions and social groups worldwide. For more information on the FSC, visit www.fsc.org.
Woodmark is the Soil Association's international forestry and chain of custody certification program. Globally respected as an innovative world leader in forest certification, Woodmark was one of the first organizations to achieve FSC accreditation in 1996. For more information on Woodmark and the Soil Association's other sustainable, organic farming initiatives, visit www.soilassociation.org.
In another important step to prevent illegal and other unsustainable practices that threaten the loss and degradation of our forests, Cork Supply has proactively joined with other concerned companies in Portugal and Spain to help form the WWF Global Forest & Trade Network — Iberia (GFTN-Iberia). This industry alliance aims to use its purchasing power and other tools to put a stop to illegal logging practices in Mediterranean forests, promote FSC membership, aid conservation efforts and provide sustainable natural products from responsibly managed forests.
The WWF GFTN-Iberia is a representative group of the WWF Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN), whose mission is to transform the global marketplace into a force for saving the world's valuable and threatened forests while providing economic and social benefits for businesses and people that depend on them. The WWF GFTN network is present in over 30 countries in Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. To learn more about WWF and its vital GFTN initiative, visit www.panda.org and www.gftn.panda.org.