LOS ANGELES, April 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- 100% Cork (www.100percentcork.org), a global campaign to raise awareness of cork's environmental benefits, today announced that it is launching a social media campaign in honor of Earth Day to help plant cork oak saplings in Melgaco, Portugal. The campaign is being run in partnership with two projects (Common Forest and Green Cork) of Portugal's biggest environmental organization, QUERCUS-Associacao Nacional de Conservacao da Natureza.

Cork oak trees are one of the world's most eco-friendly natural resources, providing refuge for rare and endangered species and reducing greenhouse gases --14 million metric tons of carbon dioxide is captured annually by cork oak forests in the Mediterranean. So, every time you buy a bottle of wine sealed with a natural cork stopper, you're helping to sustain one of the world's most biodiverse forests and protect an extraordinary ecosystem.

Cork oaks also yield enormous economic benefits: more than 100,000 people in the Mediterranean maintain the forests, harvest the bark from trees, and prepare the bark for use in myriad products such as wine stoppers, footwear and building flooring. Harvesting does not damage trees. In fact, it makes them healthier, and allows them to live longer and continue benefiting the environment.

The social media campaign provides an opportunity for anyone to plant trees – free of charge and with virtually no effort. Each time someone "Likes" 100% Cork on Facebook or follows 100% Cork on Instagram, 100% Cork will donate a cork oak sapling to be planted in Melgaco, Portugal. Common Forest, an initiative aimed at preserving and protecting cork oak forests in Portugal, and Green Cork, a cork recycling project in Portugal, will plant the saplings from April 25-27, 2014.

"We are very excited to be partnering with 100% Cork in this important Earth Day campaign," stated Paulo Magalhaes, Coordinator of Green Cork and Common Forest. "Each indigenous tree planted, such as the cork oak, is an important contribution to the ecological structure that will be required to underpin the future."

"This campaign provides a unique opportunity for our friends in the U.S. and Canada to use social media tools to help preserve Portugal's cork forests," noted Joao Ferreira, president of the Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR). "Preserving cork forests allow us to make products like wine stoppers that are great for the environment because they are 100% natural and recyclable."

Help the Environment, Plant a Cork Tree!
Who: Anyone can "Like" 100% Cork on Facebook or follow 100% Cork on Instagram. 
https://www.facebook.com/100PercentCork 
http://instagram.com/100percentcork#

What: For every "Like" on Facebook or Follow on Instagram, 100% Cork will donate a cork oak sapling. (No cost to participants.) Participants should continue to post all things cork on Instagram using #100percentcork.

When: Now through April 30, 2014.

Where:  Some cork oak saplings will be planted in Melgaco, Portugal, April 25-27, 2014. The rest will be planted after October, during the regular planting season.

About 100% Cork
100% Cork is a campaign to educate North American wine consumers, retailers and wineries about the benefits of choosing wine with natural cork closures because of cork's environmental, technical and societal advantages.  More information can be found at www.100percentcork.org and https://www.facebook.com/100PercentCork

About Common Forest
Common Forest (Floresta Comun) is an initiative to preserve and enhance the environmental benefits of Portuguese indigenous forests, including cork oak forests, which are the largest in terms of area and ecological importance. More information can be found at http://www.florestacomum.org/

About Green Cork
Green Cork recycles wine cork stoppers in Portugal and partners with Common Forest on cork oak forest preservation. Green Cork was developed in partnership with several entities, including Amorim, the world's largest producer of cork products, wineries and wine producers in Portugal. More information can be found at http://www.greencork.org/

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