corkolores: Sustainable juggling balls made of cork!
13.09.2023
Our new product line made of cork leather
"Corkolores" includes sustainable juggling balls made of cork, which are manufactured in Germany. These juggling balls are the result of our efforts to develop an almost 100% natural product. The surface is made of cork and cotton, the threads are made of cotton and the colors are of natural origin. The balls are filled with bird millet from local cultivation (from Franconia).
Our juggling balls are suitable for both beginners and professionals. They are the ideal size and weight enough to be easy to catch and throw. Each ball is unique and has been made with attention to detail. The natural materials ensure a pleasant feel and durability and with the enclosed instructions you can easily learn to juggle!
In addition to the "Juggle" juggling ball set, we have also developed a new game: Roule! This game is an innovative and sustainable version of the classic boules game. Due to the new design, the "balls" can not only be thrown, but also rolled and stacked. There are various game ideas for how to play for points. Roule can be played indoors and outdoors and is suitable for all ages.
With "corkolores by TicToys" we show that it is possible to manufacture high-quality products in Germany. We believe that sustainability, quality and fun can go hand in hand. We are proud that we can take a small step towards a more sustainable future with our juggling balls and the Roule game.
To finance corkolores we had a crowdfunding campaign on the Startnext in October 2023. We are delighted that 153 supporters contributed 13232€ to make corkolores a reality!
corkolores Roule as a new variant of the classic game Boule
"corkolores Roule" is an innovative reinterpretation of the French classic game Boule (Italian: Boccia). In contrast to conventional Boule games, in which balls are thrown, the "balls" in corkolores Roule are designed so that they can be rolled, similar to a bowling ball.
Another highlight of corkolores Roule is the possibility of stacking the rolls on top of each other. This unique design opens up a whole new dimension of the throwing game and enables a variety of new game options. The enclosed instructions present different variants of how to throw for points and stack towers.
corkolores Roule is made of the same high-quality materials as our Corkolores Jugg. The rolls are comfortable to hold and are suitable for both children and adults. They are soft, silent and pose no risk of injury, making them an ideal indoor leisure game.
Corkolores Roule is also great fun as an outdoor game.
The action-packed game of skill brings family and friends together and guarantees hours of fun in the park, on the beach or on the lawn - experience a completely new type of throwing game!
Sustainable toy design: Why corkolores is almost completely natural
Our journey to creating truly natural juggling balls began with choosing the right material. We were particularly excited about cork because it embodies the idea of sustainability in its purest form: cork is obtained from the bark of the cork oak, which grows back every nine years without the trees having to be felled. This protects the forests and promotes biodiversity. In addition, cork oaks bind large amounts of CO2 as they grow, which helps reduce greenhouse gases. Cork is biodegradable and can be composted at the end of its life. Most of the cork is grown in Portugal, which ensures short transport routes and fair production conditions within Europe.
When making our balls, we chose a durable cotton yarn that brings us one step closer to our goal of completely avoiding fossil materials. As a filling material, we rely on a tried and tested classic for professional juggling balls: millet. Unpeeled millet offers an ideal filling shape, feel and weight for so-called "bean bags" and has always been used to fill such balls. Although we experimented with various other natural materials, we ultimately decided not to reinvent the ball, especially since we can source the millet from a local farmer in Franconia.
Now for the inevitable compromises and obstacles on the way to a completely sustainable toy: Our cork leather is also glued to the carrier material, which is unfortunately not possible without fossil raw materials at the moment. Our hard oil coating against moisture and abrasion also contains a residual amount of non-organic PU. Therefore, our balls are unfortunately not - as originally planned - completely natural and therefore not biodegradable. However, we will continue to work on achieving this goal and are open to all advice and suggestions along the way!
Another problem that we unfortunately cannot avoid is the use of a cotton carrier. Cork is too fragile as a material to meet the stability requirements. Cotton is criticized in particular for its high water consumption, and even organic cotton has a poor ecological balance. Nevertheless, the choice of a natural raw material over the frequently used synthetic carrier material polyester was crucial for us. We even tested linen as a carrier material, but this was too stiff for our application and also not affordable. However, we promise to keep up with developments in this regard, because our goal is to continue to create biogenic products, preferably from locally grown raw materials.
Design process and manufacturing in Germany
Manufacturing in Germany is a huge challenge, especially in an industry where most production processes have been outsourced to China to take advantage of lower labor costs there. Making our juggling balls requires a lot of manual labor and attention to detail that goes far beyond what is required to make a T-shirt, for example.This high-quality craftsmanship comes at a price. Just sewing a single ball costs us €2.50. Added to this are the costs for the cork leather, the dyeing, the millet filling material, the filling and sewing, the packaging, as well as the instructions and the packaging itself.
For comparison: A complete juggling ball set, which is also hand-sewn, can be bought on Alibaba for less than €2! This drastic price difference highlights the working conditions in China, where low wages and less strict environmental and social standards lead to such low prices.
We are aware that our juggling balls cannot be offered at dumping prices in Germany due to the high costs of high-quality materials and fair wages. With this project we also want to draw attention to the global inequalities in terms of living and working conditions.
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Comments (4)
Rutger
November 21, 2023 20:08Hallo, kaufen kann man corkolores Roule noch nicht oder?
Matthias
November 22, 2023 09:58Hallo Rutger, corkolores wird ab Dezember in unserem Store erhältlich sein! Liebe Grüße, Matthias // TicToys
Amelie
January 16, 2024 05:48Hallo liebes Tictoys-Team, könnt ihr mir 3 eurer Corkolores Juggle - Premium Jonglierbälle zusenden? Ich möchte mit dem Jonglieren beginnen und mit euren wunderschönen Bällen wird mir dies gelingen :-) Danke vorab für eure Rückmeldung! Viele Grüße, Amelie
Matthias
January 18, 2024 10:14Hallo Amelie, die Jonglierbälle kannst du ganz einfach hier bestellen: https://tictoys.de/corkolores-juggle/ Liebe Grüße und viel Erfolg beim Jonglieren lernen! Matthias