Cork and the environment

The battles in the closure universe over TCA-derived cork taint and oxygen transmission rates are still being waged, with a good deal of research in full swing, but natural cork (close up of bark pictured here) seems to be winning the war when it comes to the environment.

A year ago, cork manufacturer Amorim commissioned international auditing firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers to carry out a comparative analysis of the life cycle of cork, screwcap and synthetic closures. The analysis may be less animated than the company’s recent Save Miguel on-line video campaign but I find it a good deal more convincing and...