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About Silk
SILK
There is no doubt that silk is a queen of fabrics. It is a completely natural fiber with triangular structure that makes it iridescent.
Besides it's lustre and beauty, silk has some other praised characteristics:
1. It is the most hypoallergenic of all fibers, due to it's natural protein structure.
2. All climate fabric. The silk absorbs up to 30% of it's weight in moisture without feeling damp, so it's great for summer garments (absorbs the perspiration and lets your skin breathe). It is also great for underneath garments because it doesn't add bulk, which makes it good for winter.
3. Robust and strong. Its smooth surface resists soil and odors well; is wrinkle and tear resistant, and dries quickly. It easily competes with steel yarn in tensile strength. The silk garment is longlasting and that makes it eco freindly and sustainable - slow fashion.
4. Light and takes color well. That means that to paint silk it takes less color and thus it is more sustainable and eco friendly.
There is also a wonderfull TED talk video about silk!
What can we do?
There is not much space for improving the process of silk production, it is what it is for last 4500 years and, unfortunately, includes death of silkworms. As much as I am not comfortable with animal cruelty, these moths are no longer capabale of living in natural environment, so if there is no silk production, there is no silk-worms too.
I explored this issue quite a lot and found that there are so called ahimsa (non-violent) or peace silk fabrics, produced in a way that lets moths exit the cocoon alive. As much as it sounds great, there is an issue of moths laying eggs that are then being destroyed, sold as food or starved. And even if they were taken care of, there are too many of them, so it would be impossible to raise them all.
Here is a text with all the details about the ahimsa silk problem.
It seems like in order to preserve the eri silkworm, it must be killed. The way I like to view this is that silkworm may be dead, but it's beatiful silk lives and floats with artistic designs like wings that moth is no longer able to produce.
However, there are some things we can make better in post-production.
For some of my desings where I apply silk in a way that can be fused with other fibers, I use recycled silk from sari factories in Nepal. There are two suppliers I would like to introduce you to, because I really admire their ethical business. Darn Good Yarn and Hippie Chicks Fiber Art
What they do is best described by Nicole Snow, owner od DGY:
Darn Good Yarn gives poverty-stricken women living in the countryside a stable job, rather than having to live off the 3-4 month period of farming in their areas. They were used to having very little opportunity available to them and which forced them to beg on the side of the street and save every bit of money they received. These women are now employed all year long due to Darn Good Yarn. They learn the skill of crafting and having a creative mindset. These women are paid on a daily basis and are able to manage their medical expenses and their children’s academics with ease. They are then able become self-reliant without worry and can perform as equals in today’s society (this is important because these women deal with caste and severe gender discrimination). Darn Good Yarn does not only provide these women with the opportunity to survive, but to thrive.
Darn Good Yarn has saved tens of thousands of pounds of waste each year. The recycled silk is taken from waste fibers collected from sari manufacturing factories. It is then individually hand spun, dyed and sometimes sewn (for our ribbon) by the women in India and Nepal. This is a very tedious job to ensure the quality of our yarn.
Along with employing less fortunate women in India and Nepal, Darn Good Yarn employs and mentors college students and passionate crafters. They also aid many United States and national small businesses with innovation ideas and techniques. Darn Good Yarn has assisted with mentoring and coaching small business owners on how to start a successful business, how to keep up with today's ever-growing social media and how to keep the business afloat once it is launched.
And if that is not enough, remember that silk is completely bio-degradable, perfect slow-fashion high quality and durable fabric that doesn't add up waste and takes way less water to clean than any other fabric.