葡萄牙软木传统变身冲浪环保新商机
Around the world, the surf industry is quietly swapping petroleum-based materials for a centuries-old Portuguese resource: cork. As eco-conscious wave riders demand lighter, less toxic boards, a modest family workshop near the Algarve coast has found itself at the centre of a circular-economy success story. Their specialized fin, punched from discarded wine stopper trimmings, is now being shipped to surf schools from California to Victoria.
The Soares family had harvested cork oak bark in the rolling hills of southern Portugal for three generations, mostly for bottle seals and flooring. When the youngest son, Rui, began shaping his own surfboards in a coastal shed, he noticed that the plastic fins were heavy, snapped easily, and ended up as beach litter. A trial with compressed cork, however, produced a fin that was dramatically lighter, naturally biodegradable, and offered a softer ride — almost silent in the water.
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