Sponges
A soft and squishy product like a sponge is made from wood fibres. Many household sponges are made from cellulose wood fibres.
Wine Corks
Did you know there’s a difference between a cork tree and a cork oak? The cork used to create wine stoppers, only comes from the cork oak. These trees live for up to 250 years, and at age 25 and every 10 years thereafter, these trees are stripped for their cork to help create the stoppers used in wine bottles around the world.
Chewing gum
Chewing gum, in one form or another, has been around for thousands of years and is another product from trees. While many of today’s popular gum brands have transitioned to using synthetic sap substitutes, much of today’s gum got its start from the chicle sap found in sapodilla trees.
Car wax
Carnauba wax is found on the leaves of Copernicia prunifera, a type of palm tree that only grows in Brazil. The wax that is found in many popular car wax brands is obtained by drying and beating the leaves to remove the wax.
Hair Dye
Another product from trees is hair dye. Looking for a natural alternative to a chemical-based hair dye? The leaves from the henna tree have been used for thousands of years to create hair dye. When the leaves are crushed, the dye from these trees boasts a brilliant orange/red colour. Bark from various trees and nutshells, including walnut shells, have also been used to create different coloured dyes throughout the years.
Chocolate
Next time you have a delicious bite of chocolate, you can also take a moment to think about the tree that chocolate came from. Chocolate comes from the cacao tree, a native tree of the Amazon. These trees can also be found in South and Central America, the Caribbean and other humid and tropical climates in both Africa and Asia.
Latex Rubber Gloves
Washing the dishes or a trek to the dental specialist wouldn't be the same without latex elastic gloves. Both restorative and family unit latex gloves are produced using natural latex, which originates from Hevea Brasiliensis, otherwise called the elastic tree. Latex is created from the white and murky liquid found under the bark. These trees can be tapped for up to 30 years to make latex.
