To produce silk, worms are grown on mulberry leaves. After they cocoon, they are typically killed by being boiled alive or baked.
Silk is made from the cocoons of mulberry silkworms.
More than 6,500 silkworms, or Bombyx mori, are killed to make just 2.2 pounds of silk. And most mass market fabric companies practice unethical and cruel processes to create the silk we know and love.
Next, they're fed a steady diet of mulberry leaves, and after roughly 35 days of growing and multiplying in size, they're ready to make their cocoon. Once their cocoon is complete, the sericulture process traditionally includes killing the silkworm by boiling or steaming it alive.
Roughly 3,000 silkworms are killed to make a single pound of silk. That means that billions, if not trillions, of them are killed for this every year.
Organic Peace Silk is a natural material, produced from residual cocoons of the silk worms. Peace Silk is gained without harming silk worms contrary to the silk industry that boils them alive within their cocoons.
The typical production process of mulberry silk is not cruelty-free. That's because the silkworms are boiled alive in their cocoons in order to prepare the cocoon's long silk thread for spooling. Most silk companies kill the worms.
Ahimsa Silk, also known as peace silk, cruelty-free silk and non-violent silk, refers to any type of silk that is produced without harming or killing the silk worms. (It is also, erroneously, called vegan silk. As an animal product, however, it is not vegan.)
Silk isn't the most animal-friendly textile. It's a luxury fabric and one of the most expensive in the world. But the silk industry is as exploitative and cruel today as it was centuries ago. Silk is still considered one of the finest fibers in fashion worldwide.
For silk garments, for one meter of fabric, 3000 to 15,000 silkworms are boiled alive. The silk production process starts with the female silkmoth laying eggs and being crushed and ground to pieces immediately after producing eggs to check for diseases.
And yes, silkworms (or insects in general) are sentient beings. They possess a central nervous system, brain and have the ability to experience pain. We as humans have domesticated silk moths (Bombyx mori) to produce fine silk.
Is the mulberry silk vegan? No. The silkworms are farmed to produce the cocoons for the silk yarn, wild mulberry silk is not available as the silk worms are domesticated.
All of the leathers used in our collections are a by-product of food production and a natural alternative to fossil fuel synthetics. All leather is sourced to meet our high ethical standards, with most coming from within the EU.
Silk is made from fibers spun by worms, who are animals, in a process that's surprisingly cruel and typically ends with the worms being killed. For those reasons, vegans typically do not wear or use silk.
Caring for Growing Silkworms
Silkworms are vulnerable to touch, and that's when adults must supervise. Kids are always enthusiastic about taking care of silkworms, but they may accidentally bruise them, leading to their death. If you need to pick the silkworm, do it very gently. Try not to use your hands.
The most common method of silkworm slaughter is to boil cocoons before the silkworm fully pupates and breaks the cocoon. This means that silkworms are killed as pupae, during their metamorphosis from larval to adult state as a silk moth.
Mulberry silk is produced by silkworms that are fed a diet of mulberry leaves, while other types of silk may be produced by silkworms that are fed different types of leaves or by other insects altogether. This difference in diet can result in differences in the texture and quality of the silk fibers.
After bequeathing their cocoons to silk fabrication, the dead pupae are used for animal fodder.
During the processing of silk fibres, the cocoons are boiled to kill the larvae.
Wild silk is naturally ethical as the silkworms are left to eat whatever they like, are able to roam wherever they feel, and are only collected as cocoons off trees. Note, however, that the cocoons can then be steamed to kill the moth inside, with the thread reeled from the cocoon for its long filament fibre.
Vegans do not use any products of animal origin. This means: no leather shoes, nor anything made of wool, silk, fur or down.
The Roman Senate tried in vain to prohibit the wearing of silk, for economic reasons as well as moral ones. The import of Chinese silk resulted in vast amounts of gold leaving Rome, to such an extent that silk clothing was perceived as a sign of decadence and immorality.
Silks ain't a god absorbent as compared to cotton and therefore wearing it on a hot, summery day will leave you all sweaty. The fabric got popular because it is wrinkle and damage resistant.
Abused Insects and Exploited Workers
If any disease is found, the eggs are destroyed. Male moths are simply discarded after they mate. It's not uncommon to see birds pecking at baskets full of male moths left outside of silk-production facilities.
Cupro. Cupro is made from cotton linter fibre, the fuzz surrounding cotton seeds. Making use of cotton waste, this material is smooth and biodegradable and a great alternative for brushed silk when sourced responsibly.
TENCEL™ is a brand under the Austrian company Lenzing, and produces two materials that are often described as vegan silk. TENCEL™ lyocell and TENCEL™ modal fibres are becoming much-used textiles in sustainable fashion. They are both plant-based fibres derived from wood pulp cellulose from certified sustainable forests.