Can Cork be used to create lifestyle products for our daily use? The answer is yes, Cork is a sustainable, stylish, and animal-friendly solution. Cork is a brilliant material. Its harvest doesn’t require the trees to be cut down. As a result, it helps maintain wildlife diversity and promotes reforestation. It is also biodegradable, renewable and recyclable. Cork fabric is made from the outer bark of cork oak trees, which naturally grows back, so cork products are as kind to the planet as they are chic. More and more fashion brands are using this soft, durable, and water-resistant material to create purses, phone and computer cases, travel bags, jewelry, and more.
There’s nothing eco-friendly about leather made from animal skins. Buying leather bags, belts, jackets, or wallets means subjecting cows, dogs, and other animals to the horrors of farms and slaughterhouses. And just like fur, leather is also loaded with toxic chemicals to keep it from decomposing in our closet.
I would like to introduce By The Sea Collection which is an Sydney based business that focuses on creating fun and trendy products that are cruelty free and sustainable. All of their cork bags are made from recycled materials. Their cork bags are made out of left over cork pieces rather than new sheets of cork from cork farming. They work with recyclable materials to help reduce product wastage, decrease carbon footprint, and are cruelty free. All of their products are 100% vegan, so you can feel great when purchasing from them that no animals were hurt, less waste going to landfill, and enjoy the benefits of cork material.
Donna Cork Tote Bag in Vivid 
Gigi Vegan Cork Leather Coin Pouch in Vivid 
Jackie Cork Travel Wallet in Vivid 
Gigi Vegan Cork Leather Coin Pouch Detail in Vivid 
Matt Money Clip Cork Wallet in Vivid 
Max Cork Leather Card Holder in Vivid
After discovering cork fabric through Nike and Vans collections, Jane, a fashion graduate from Whitehouse Institute of Design, was inspired to start her own line of up-cycled cork bags. Cork fabric that she uses is made from off cut cork pieces. Jane works with a manufacturer in Sydney to design and produce the final products. Her cork range happened to be popular among the vegan community quite quickly and this has influenced a lifestyle change for her. She became more environmental conscious and it also lead her create a vegan soap range with a soap maker from South Coast, NSW, to produce traditional handcrafted vegan soaps. ‘By The Sea Collection’ vegan soaps are made out of all natural fair trade ingredients, mostly sourced from within Australia.
You can browse and shop for all their products on their website: https://bytheseaco.com/
