Silk is often thought of as a luxury fabric. But what many people are not aware of, is that it comes from silkworms, and mostly they are boiled alive to make the fabric.
So-called ‘ahimsa’ or ‘peace’ silk was often lauded as the alternative, allowing silkworms to chew their way out of the cocoon. But it’s now been found that often these silkworms often starve to death on the floor, as they are so tired, they can’t find food.
And in some ‘peace silk’ industries, the male worms are kept in the fridge, only brought out to make, then just ‘thrown away’. So best to avoid it all anyway.
So if your dream is to get married in a silk wedding dress, or you simply like sateen silk pretty dresses, are there alternatives? You betcha!
We don’t really recommend Tencel silk. Although this is from a European tree, the tree itself if flammable. So like eucalyptus (new plantations are already banned in Spain and Portugal) if used on a mass scale, planting too many trees can cause wildfires.
Cupro is the mass-market alternative. This is made from fibres from cotton waste, that are too small to be made into new garments. This is good but at present it tends to be made with chemicals, so more work needs to be done. But it does indeed feel and look like silk, and a good way to use up fibres that would otherwise be thrown away. It’s actually been around since 1900.
Microsilk is a new plant-based silk, inspired by that engineer of the best silk – spiders! This company looked at how our eight-legged friends manage to create a beautiful yet strong flexible thread, and have done the same.
