Why I Quit Silk
I love silk. Itʼs a soft and gorgeous fabric, with a beautiful drape and soft glow . . . and it takes colors absolutely brilliantly ! But thereʼs an ugly side to this beautiful fabric: the industry that produces it is abusive to its workers, the environment, and the silk worm that makes it possible.
Labor Abuses
Labor abuses occur in the silk industry in India, Pakistan, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Russia. In India, countless people, including millions of children as young as five, toil as bonded laborers to pay off loans. At wages of less than $3 per day, most will not pay off that debt in their lifetime. They work 12-18 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, in dangerous conditions in which they are routinely burned and injured. Crowded and unsanitary conditions contribute to the spread of diseases like tuberculosis. They get no schooling, and are routinely beaten and abused by their employers.
Environment
Silk production is also harsh on the environment. Compared to cotton cultivation, it uses more fresh water (up to 1,000 metric tons of water for one metric ton of silk); causes more water pollution (the mulberry trees used in silk production require large amounts of fertilizer and pesticides); and emits more greenhouse gases (tremendous amounts of energy are needed to maintain temperature and humidity on silk farms).
Animal Welfare
The industry is not kind to the silk worms, either, as they are boiled or baked alive inside their cocoons during the production process. Each pound of silk requires about 3,000 silkworms to make, so around 1.2 trillion of them are killed each year. Silk worms may not have the appeal of many other animals (if you learned that making your shirt had cost 3,000 butterflies their lives, you might rethink your wardrobe choices), but they are still worthy of consideration.
Ahimsa silk (so-called Peace Silk) is touted as an ethical alternative, because the silk worms used to make it are allowed to emerge from the cocoon naturally. But then they are left to die slowly by starvation and dehydration--hardly an ethical alternative.
Plant-based Alternatives
I work on plant-based fabrics, including cotton and Tencel™ (lyocell and modal made from beech and eucalyptus trees in a process that recycles the water and solvents used). These fabrics are soft, breathable, lightweight, and durable.
More info:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2003/01/23/child-slaves-abandoned-indias-silk-industry
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/13/asia/silk-slaves-india-the-freedom-project-spc-intl/index.html
http://www.wormspit.com/peacesilk.htm
https://www.shoplikeyougiveadamn.com/blogs/whats-wrong-with-peace-silk/bl-356
https://stopchildlabor.org/silks-dark-side-uzbek-kids-made-to-grow-cocoons/
Labor Abuses
Labor abuses occur in the silk industry in India, Pakistan, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Russia. In India, countless people, including millions of children as young as five, toil as bonded laborers to pay off loans. At wages of less than $3 per day, most will not pay off that debt in their lifetime. They work 12-18 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, in dangerous conditions in which they are routinely burned and injured. Crowded and unsanitary conditions contribute to the spread of diseases like tuberculosis. They get no schooling, and are routinely beaten and abused by their employers.
Environment
Silk production is also harsh on the environment. Compared to cotton cultivation, it uses more fresh water (up to 1,000 metric tons of water for one metric ton of silk); causes more water pollution (the mulberry trees used in silk production require large amounts of fertilizer and pesticides); and emits more greenhouse gases (tremendous amounts of energy are needed to maintain temperature and humidity on silk farms).
Animal Welfare
The industry is not kind to the silk worms, either, as they are boiled or baked alive inside their cocoons during the production process. Each pound of silk requires about 3,000 silkworms to make, so around 1.2 trillion of them are killed each year. Silk worms may not have the appeal of many other animals (if you learned that making your shirt had cost 3,000 butterflies their lives, you might rethink your wardrobe choices), but they are still worthy of consideration.
Ahimsa silk (so-called Peace Silk) is touted as an ethical alternative, because the silk worms used to make it are allowed to emerge from the cocoon naturally. But then they are left to die slowly by starvation and dehydration--hardly an ethical alternative.
Plant-based Alternatives
I work on plant-based fabrics, including cotton and Tencel™ (lyocell and modal made from beech and eucalyptus trees in a process that recycles the water and solvents used). These fabrics are soft, breathable, lightweight, and durable.
More info:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2003/01/23/child-slaves-abandoned-indias-silk-industry
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/13/asia/silk-slaves-india-the-freedom-project-spc-intl/index.html
http://www.wormspit.com/peacesilk.htm
https://www.shoplikeyougiveadamn.com/blogs/whats-wrong-with-peace-silk/bl-356
https://stopchildlabor.org/silks-dark-side-uzbek-kids-made-to-grow-cocoons/