How well do you know your #fabrics?
This week we explore silk.
Silk is widely considered one of the most luxurious premium fabrics there is. It is a natural fibre that is produced from the cocoons of silkworms. The cocoons are steamed or boiled, then the end of the filament is found in order to unravel it into one single piece.
One filament from one cocoon fed on mulberry leaves can measure 1km long! (filaments are fibres that are so long they’re usually measured in miles or km - mostly manufactured fibres). Silk is spun from these long threads. It is the continuous thread that gives the silk it’s smoothness. The fibres are actually saliva, produced by the silkworm to insulate itself until it is time to transform. The threads are then harvested and can then be woven or knitted.
In terms of its environmental credentials, production of silk can vary. It’s generally considered sustainable. It’s a renewable resource, biodegradable (as long as it’s untreated and no blended with other fibres or threads or chemically dyed), uses less water (though untreated water can be dumped directly into groundwater which not only contains chemical toxins, but also biological waste that can contribute to land degradation and eutrophication), chemicals and energy than many other fibres. The chemicals that are used are involved in the cleaning or degumming of the cocoon, so choose your silks carefully. Labels that state unbleached, un-dyed or 100% naturally dyed are generally better options to choose from.
The mulberry tree that silkworms feed on is a hardy tree, resistant to pollution and easy to cultivate. Whats more, the tree bark has medicinal properties and the fruit can be eaten or used as dye.
One of the issues surrounding silk is the silkworms being killed in the production process. The pupae don’t go to waste - they are a popular snack across many Asian countries and the outer-cocoons are used as fertiliser or to stuff pillows. But many activists and campaigners argue that the silk worms are brutally killed and therefore no silk production is ethical. In fact, with pressure from the likes of PETA and consumers, ASOS decided to stop using silk in 2019.
If you are intending on using silk there are more sustainable and less fatal options available on the market. Peace silk, also known as Ahimsa silk and cruelty free silk, allows the moth to emerge from the cocoon before it is boiled. It is the most used in most commercial silk production, unfortunately though, the Bombyx mori moth barely survives after emerging from its cocoon. After hundreds of years of selective breeding, it is not intended to live beyond the cocoon stage and has lost its ability to fly, see, camouflage and fear predators. So a peace silk moth will likely not live for very long in captivity whereby it may have the opportunity for breeding. So its ethics are still questionable and it has no certification.
Some silks that fall under the Ahimsa umbrella include Eri silk and Tussar silk. Eri silk uses castor plant-fed domesticated silkworms where they come to no harm during the production process. Tussar silkworms are truly wild, allowed to leave the cocoon before they are harvested from the forest.
It's worth nothing that companies that use ‘wild silkworms’ in their production are allowing the worms to live in an environment akin to their natural habitat. The end result in terms of fabric is something that is more durable and the producers tend to use fewer chemicals - but they are not necessarily Ahimsa silks.
What about the people that work in the silk industry? Its ethics have and continue to be questioned. The silk trade (also known as sericulture) provides employment to rural populations with around 1 million workers in China (the world’s largest silk producer) and 7.9 million workers in India. Uzbekistan, Thailand and Brazil make up the other top 5 silk producing nations. Collectively they produce more than 99% of the world's silk although sericulture is practiced in more than 60 countries.
In parts of India sericulture has been an important enterprise for developing communities and especially for women’s empowerment. However a report dated back to 2003 by the Human Rights Watch reported the abuse of child slaves in the Indian silk industry. The report then estimated that approximately 350,000 children work in the silk industry, “boiling cocoons, hauling baskets of mulberry leaves and embroidering saris.” Some are working from the age of 5.
A more recent video report released this year, CNN Freedom Project has accused the Indian silk industry of playing a part in bonded labour also known as modern-day slavery. This short documentary tells the story of Hadia and Naseeba, two reportedly bonded silk labourers working in Sidlaghatta, a silk hub about 65km northeast of Bangalore. According to CNN, the mother and daughter were forced by their “master” to work 11 hours a day, for which they earned 200 rupees (about $2.75) to repay a 100,000 rupee ($1,370) loan that had since doubled in size. Naseeba had been working in the silk factory for 3 years, her mother 9, boiling cocoons and removing the threads from which silk is made. The steam was found and their hands bled, she said. The reprisals for failing to perform their work, according to their accounts, involved threats of physical and sexual violence.
The US department of state has also said that Child labour has been found in silk cocoon production in Uzbekistan.
Workers' health can be adversely affected through silk rearing. A 2011 study of sericulture farmers in Kashmir, India found the majority of silk-rearers there suffered from eye irritation, injuries, back pain, allergies, respiratory problems and headaches.
However, the silk industry has also been known to be an enabler of women’s empowerment. In India approximately 60% of sericulture activities are said to be carried out by women. The rearing of silkworms is an important source of livelihood for rural women in Southern India. It means financial security, increased socio-economic status, increased control over decision making - both in the household and community at large, and the opportunity to save and spend. The women are self employed and in their own homes they are able to rear the silkworms with a known peer group. This enables them to balance household and economic activity.
Recognition of rural women as major contributors towards silk production is significant and life changing. There is a saying “Silk for the women, by the women”. Sericulture and Women are very much interlinked in the entire, cradle to cradle supply chain. From the 60% of sericulture activities that are carried out by women through to 70% of world silk production is consumed by women and of that 80% is consumed by Indian women.
Our Verdict? Silk production makes up less than 0.2% of the global fibre market but it is still a significant billion dollar industry. If you do opt to use silk in your collections then please do your research so you choose one that is eco friendly and ethically produced. Costs will invariably be slightly higher than conventional silk, but really at a cost to who? Look for GOTS Silk, Peace Silk, Wild Silk.
Do you use silk or are considering silk in your collections?
Sources: CNN Freedom Project, Common Objective, CFDA, Good on You
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