So we all know that cork is an environmentally friendly, renewable resource, and that it’s come a long way from its wine stopper origins to making our beautiful floors and wall coverings and to even fuel our factories. But a cork stamp?
The world’s first postal stamp made entirely from cork oak was issued in Portugal this last Wednesday, in an official ceremony at the Lisbon parliament intended to show how the cork industry is diversifying.
The stamps are made from wafer-thin “paper cork”, and were designed by Portuguese engraver Joao Machado. The stamps have a face value of one euro and depict a cork oak tree on a hill.
It is no surprise to us that the stamps are already a popular item on eBay.
According to our own Antonio Amorim, who is also the chairperson of the Portuguese Cork Producers Association, “… faced with competition from plastic and metal caps, the sector has had to diversify.” And diversify we have!
He adds, “Portugal is the world’s biggest producer of cork, and the industry is currently developing in the areas of building materials (cladding, insulation) and state-of-the-art sectors such as aeronautics, thanks to its qualities of lightness, impermeability, elasticity, and most importantly its green credentials.” Check out Wicanders’ range of flooring and wall coverings on their web site by clicking here.
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Wicanders Cork Oak Blog 