Silk textiles

Just how environmentally friendly are silk textiles? It's natural, renewable, soft and delicate. If a hand loom is used for weaving the fibre, the eco credentials seem quite ok as this does't use much energy or create typical factory emissions. But look at silk textiles in a bit more detail, the fibre comes from a living being, the silk worm. There are also the workers to consider too.... many of them are in poverty and being exploited. Read on to find out more about silk textiles.

Uses
♦ Textiles, bed linen, clothing, pillow batting and soft furnishings
♦ The majority of interior uses in soft furnishings would be a mixture of fibres/ blends for added strength.

Advantages
♦ Excellent anti allergy characteristics.
♦ Naturally warm and insulating.
♦ Naturally breathable.
♦ Extremely lightweight material.
♦ Often blended with other fibres to increase strength and durability.

Disadvantages
♦ See environment & health.
♦ Lightweight textiles are easily damaged.
♦ Delicate fibres are damaged by sunlight exposure.
♦ Washing at high temperatures will damage and distort the fibre.
♦ A small number of people have an allergic reaction to silk textiles.

Origin
♦ China with the majority percentage globally.
♦ Commercial silk faming is also found in India and North Asia.

Embodied Energy
♦ Not a local fibre for USA and Europe.
♦ Transport and distribution from overseas sources creates high levels of carbon emissions, which increases the amount of embodied energy.

Environment & health
Conventional farming
♦ Conventional silk farming and processing is not environmentally friendly.
♦ Silk worms are bred in captivity and kept in cages.
♦ Processing methods and dyes use a mixture of chemicals and synthetic substances which contribute to pollution from waste and emissions.
♦ Treatments can be added to silk to change the appearance, add weight, improve the crease resistance, flame retardant, anti-static, water resistant, mildew resistant etc.
♦ These treatments are chemical based and create more toxic pollution in manufacturing, waste and disposal.
♦ Any chemicals and synthetic substance are also hazardous to humans – both the user and workers e.g. multiple sensitivities, the associations with cancer etc.

♦ Choose natural and vegetable based dyes.
♦ The following toxins can be replaced with natural alternatives; dioxin in bleaching agents, formaldehyde from the finishing process and heavy metals from the dying process.

Types of silk
Wild / free range / cruelty free
♦ The moth is allowed to emerge from the cocoon without being harmed.
♦ Alternatively the fibre is collected when the cocoon falls from the tree naturally.
♦ Some types of silkworms or caterpillars can produce cocoons throughout the year, rather than once per year for traditional methods.
♦ Both are labour intensive – not suited to mass production.
♦ This produces threads that are shorter as the worm causes damage when coming out of the cocoon –these then have to be spun into yarn.
♦ More expensive as the yields are less tan conventional silk farming methods.
♦ Silk finish is generally duller and more textured in feel.
♦ Wild silks do not take dying as easily.
♦ They are difficult to clean.
Organic
♦ Silk that is grown without chemicals, cruelty to animals or dyes.
♦ Certified organic silk farms are rare.
Vegetarian Peace Silk
♦ Sourced from India
♦ Silk worms are farmed in their natural environment (not in cages as with conventional).
♦ They live their natural life and are not killed for the silk.
♦ Fibres are spun by hand and woven on traditional looms.
♦ Local people are given employment opportunity, upholding employee standards and rights.
♦ More expensive than conventional silk.

Renewable
♦ A 100% natural and renewable fibre.

Recycled content
♦ Recycled silk is in the early stages of development with a few manufacturers.

Recyclable
♦ 100% biodegradable fibre.
♦ Can be used for composting and mulch.

Performance
♦ For the size of fibre, silk is known to have the strength of steel.
♦ However the lightweight and delicate nature of the fibres lowers durability.
♦ Low resistance to abrasions.

Human Ethics
♦ Workers are often kept under poor conditions, with little wages in countries where employee standards and rights are generally exploited.
♦ Silk processing is very labour intensive for the employee.
Child labour is also easily exploited.

Animal Ethics
♦ Conventional silk farming methods kill the moth through steaming or boiling.
♦ Thousands of silkworms are killed to process the smallest amount of silk.
♦ This ensures they cannot come out of their cocoon which damages the silk fibre.
♦ This type of farming is unethical treatment towards animals.

Silk Alternatives
♦ Soy Silk is made from tofu manufacturing waste.
♦ It takes dye well and feel likes a hybrid of cotton/linen mix.

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