I just did a bit more research on the cork fabric from thethackery.com.
Their products are also available through Amazon.com.
The cork fabric comes in a variety of colors.
The fabric is made of 50% polyurethane, 35% cotton, and 15% polyester. I did a quick web search on polyurethane and polyester and read that both are laser safe. (Might anyone have contradictory information?)
Thethackery.com suggests cleaning the material with a damp cloth and gentle cleanser. I marked up a piece of the fabric with pencil then washed it with a sponge and hand soap. It cleaned up nicely.
Also, (as I mentioned to @bmcgrain in the original post) I mistreated samples of the fabric. Here is what I found.
Glowforge test
- using settings for Medium Proofgrade Leather, it did not catch on fire, and I did not see any flareups
- I am using a Pre-Release Unit, and think folks should test the fabric with lower settings in a Production Unit
Lighter test
- cork starts on fire before fabric
- fabric did not melt
- no strong chemical smell detected
Water test
- it floats (small scraps)
- after about 60 minutes soaking (submerged in water), I cannot peel the cork layer off the fabric
Tear test
- I can tear very thin pieces of the fabric by hand
- I cannot tear thick pieces by hand
- I scratched a piece of fabric up with a mechanical pencil, it pulled up little bits in a few areas, but I could rub them down with my thumb and they disappeared
- I can poke through the material easily with a needle or pencil tip, but the cork (I guess due to elasticity) seemed to meld back together (I cannot see the holes)
If anyone else tries cork fabric, it would be great if you could share what you learned.
I hope this information is helpful. Thanks!!