Green Fashion Rescues a Dying Household Industry

LOS ANGELES - Dec. 15, 2015 - PRLog -- LOS ANGELES, California - As our society grows more environmentally aware and spiritually inclined, it isn’t much wonder that ecologically responsible resources are beginning to reinvent themselves in the fashion world. “Organic” and “sustainable” are common household terms nowadays, covering an array of products from groceries to business suits made with organic cotton. But just when you thought that the word “sustainable” couldn’t be broadened much further, out came an old classic substrate to throw his hat into the eco fashion ring; our old pal, cork.

Yes, that same material that keeps our Moscato tightly sealed and our thumbtacks on their to-do lists, has been brought back to life by designers wanting to do their part in lightening the load of our carbon footprint and lend a hand to Mother Earth. While winemakers have rapidly been switching from cork stoppers to plastic and aluminum (which release 10 times and 26 times more CO2 than cork, respectively), a few fashion designers have begun to move in the opposite direction.

Pioneers + Prophets is one such company leading the cork revolution. Owner Ron Garkey has enmeshed his love of cork and nature into his line of “vegan leather” fashion accessories. From beautifully dyed and studded cork wristbands to intricate collars, Garkey is now developing his latest Pioneers + Prophets creation: cork handbags, due out at http://www.pioneersandprophets.com in 2016. Currently, many of their customers can be seen across their PioneersAndProphets Instagram feed, doting on the comfort and leather-like qualities of their products.

So, sure, Garkey’s work with cork is pretty and feather-light, but what is so great and eco-conscious about cork, anyway? For starters, cork is water-resistant, unlike leather and suede, which have a similar texture, thus eliminating the danger of damaging your accessories with a forgetful trip to the shower. The durability of cork is also making a name for itself and becoming a more common choice for architectural flooring. Most importantly, cork is truly sustainable. This is due to the fact that it is harvested from the bark of Cork Oak trees once every 9 years, never damaging the trees themselves. Since the uprising of plastic bottle stoppers, cork harvesters have seen a steep decline of work and the cork forests, which protect a variety of species in the animal kingdom, are in turn suffering from the rise of plastic pollution.

While thinking of cork may incite images of Mom building a table-top that she saw on Etsy, Garkey aims to shift that thought higher and let people know that cork’s not dead. While the versatile, old material may not be fashionable in the wine industry anymore, thanks to designers like Pioneers + Prophets, it is certainly in fashion in the fashion industry.