Maybe you've come across the expression "peace silk" before? Maybe this is your first time... but what is peace silk exactely? And why is it more sustainable than regular silk? I mean we've been wearing silk for over thousand years. And it's an organic fiber right? So it's waste shouldn't be that harmful to our ecosystem compared to the eco villain, polyester, right?
But did you know that traditional silk manufacturing methods involve boiling the cocoons of the silkworm and then sorting out the threads to be used later in production?And it takes about 5 000 silkworks to produce a pure silk kimono.
And it's here where the peace silk comes in as the more sustainable option. Because when making peace silk no silk worms are being harmed. The silkworm breeding takes place under natural conditions. The trees where the silkworms grow are not treated with fungicides, insecticides or genetic sprays. To protect the caterpillars and leaves from other insects or birds, the entire tree is covered with a net, similar to a mosquito net. Once the silkworms have spun the cocoons, they are kept in a sheltered place until the pupae hatches out of the cocoon as a beautiful butterfly. This process can take 2 to 4 weeks and of course this ethical and eco-friendly method of making peace silk slows production. Which means higher prices. But isn't it worth it? I mean shouldn't non-violently produced silk be fundamental?
Once the butterflies have left their cocoons, the cocoons are processed without the use of harmful chemicals.
So now knowing this, it's gonna be peace silk or no silk, right?
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