The first cork forests and factories have been Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified in Portugal.
Over the past 10 years, damaging policies, poor forest management and a change in the cork market have resulted in the degradation and loss of cork oak landscapes.
But now WWF has stepped in with a new programme to reverse these damaging trends and protect, manage and restore cork landscapes in the Mediterranean.
Amorim, the first factory in the world to supply cork products, and Frutic, a co-operative of cork forest owners, were both FSC certified by Smartwood.