18 October 2024
Our favourite alternatives to wool
- COSH! Member Publicity
- Production
Silk is a beautiful material with extraordinary properties: the natural shine radiates enormous luxury, the fabric drapes beautifully around the body, it is lightweight and contains a natural thermostat, making it suitable to wear in both winter and summer. But unfortunately, conventional silk is anything but animal and environmentally friendly. Therefore the good news is: there are more sustainable and animal-friendly alternatives that are better for the silkworms ánd the environment. Discover the world of silk and where you can find garments made of peace silk, organic silk, upcycled silk or deadstock silk.
Animal and environmentally friendly silk vs. conventional silk: what is the difference?
Conventional silk
Silk is made from the thread of the silkworm, the larva of the silk butterfly. These silk butterflies lay their eggs in mulberry trees, which are grown specifically for this purpose. When it is time for the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly, the caterpillar spins threads and uses them to create a cocoon. This wire is about 10 micrometres thick and can be up to 900 metres long. In order to fly out of the cocoon, the caterpillars must first open this silk cocoon. This has a negative effect on the length, quantity and quality of the silk threads, which is a thorn in the eye of the conventional silk industry. That is why this silk production is unfortunately not very animal-friendly. To preserve the silk threads, the entire cocoon is boiled, causing the silkworms to die a fatal death.
Animal and environmentally friendly silk
Fortunately, this can also be done differently, both in an animal and environmentally friendly way. The best animal-friendly alternative to conventional silk is peace silk, also known as Ahimsa or wild silk. During the production of peace silk, damage to the silkworms is minimised. Instead of boiling the silkworms alive to obtain the silk thread, silkworms can naturally emerge from their cocoons when their life cycle is complete. This means that peace silk is not only animal-friendly, but also suitable for a vegetarian lifestyle. The disadvantage is that in this natural way the threads of the cocoon are broken, making the silk threads shorter. The result is a slightly rougher silk fabric with imperfections, which can also be seen by fashion enthusiasts as a unique look for a garment.
An environmentally friendly alternative is organic silk. For the production of silk mulberry trees are required, in which the silkworms lay eggs. To grow these mulberry trees (faster), harmful chemicals and toxic substances are often used. But not with organic silk: it is produced according to more environmentally friendly and sustainable practices. The silkworms are only fed with organically grown mulberry leaves, free of pesticides, synthetic fertilisers and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The entire production process of organic silk, from feeding the silkworms to harvesting the silk, follows strict organic standards.
Want to know more about how sustainable silk is? Read more in: ‘Discover the world of silk: a guide to organic, peaceful and conventional silk’.
Making well-considered choices as a consumer
As a consumer you have the choice to choose between these different types of silk. Your choices as a consumer have the power to change the world. Therefore, choose fashion brands that only work with animal and environmentally friendly alternatives to silk, such as peace silk and organic silk. Or discover the world of upcycled and deadstock silk, which are more sustainable alternatives as it contains silk fabrics that already exist.
You can also ask for these silk alternatives in stores. Are you, after seeing the etiquette, not sure what kind of silk a garment is? Start a conversation in the store and get advice about the alternatives they have to offer. By communicating we continue to learn from each other and together we make the world a better place.
Peace silk: the most animal-friendly alternative to ‘normal’ silk
Jyoti – Fair Works
The German brand Jyoti – Fair Works mainly works with natural materials for its collections which are better for animals ánd the environment. That is why Jyoti – Fair Works chooses peace silk for its silk items. An example is the timeless Top Sagaar, made from a cream-coloured, hand-woven peace silk fabric. The advantage of this fabric is that it feels very light, but the fit remains in shape while wearing. For the production of peace silk, Jyoti – Fair Works works together with families from Assam in the Guwahati region, India. The fabrics are made here in a traditional way on the loom with hand-spun yarn. The fabric therefore contains small irregularities, which contribute to the unique structure and appearance of each garment.
Aiayu
Also the Danish clothing and home decoration brand Aiayu only works with peace silk, or Eri silk. This Eri silk comes from villages in Assam, India, where farming – the breeding of Eri silkworms – is done with a high level of expertise and care. Only castor leaves are fed to the Eri silkworms, which are native to the forests of Assam and do not require irrigation, fertilisers or pesticides to grow. The result of this fabric is not only more animal and environmentally friendly, but also is beautiful, luxurious and high-quality. Aiayu makes beautiful silk items from peace silk, such as blouses, dresses, scarves, socks, pillowcases and eye masks.
The collection of Aiayu is sold at Duka Moodstore in Bruges.
Choose organic silk, an environmentally friendly alternative to silk
ALKENA
Do you want to consciously choose organic silk, because it is better for the environment? Then take a look at the collection of ALKENA. This Swiss brand specialises in silk and introduced its own collection of organic silk products in 2009, including clothing, bedding, and accessories. In the years since, ALKENA has increasingly collaborated with family farms in China, organised in cooperatives, to keep up with the growing demand for organic silk. In addition, it is certified by IMO, indicating that it meets strict standards for organic farming and ethical treatment, free from harmful chemicals and respectful of the natural ecosystem.
The collection of ALKENA is sold at Mandragora in Antwerp.
Upcycled silk: the same luxury without new production
El.résidu
Upcycling vintage silk fabrics into new, contemporary garments: the Amsterdam brand El.résidu shows that it is possible. The vintage silk materials come from India, where owner Ella selects (mostly remotely) the most beautiful, brightly coloured vintage silk fabrics together with the Indian women from the small-scale production workshops. El.résidu produces new garments from these vintage silk fabrics in an ethical manner in India. Since these materials were very popular in the past, they have often been used many times and sometimes became extra vulnerable, but are nevertheless still too beautiful not to be used anymore. That is why El.résidu mainly makes padded jackets and waistcoats, called Dena, Bowie or Jamy, as the filling ensures that the fabric lasts much longer.
The collection also includes garments with a blend of silk and cotton, but since all materials are vintage, the exact composition of the fabric is sometimes difficult to determine. Even though this doesn’t sound perfect, at COSH we are a huge advocate of reusing materials. Because why would you produce something new if there are already existing materials like this?!
Deadstock silk: the use of leftovers fabrics from suppliers
Anekdot
At the German brand Anekdot they believe that contemporary, high-quality clothing should not cost the earth. That is why at Anekdot they mainly work with deadstock fabrics, including deadstock silk. These deadstock fabrics are leftovers from the fashion industry: the fabrics have already been produced and are available as surplus from fabric suppliers. A great shame, because these are often very high-quality fabrics, only sometimes in smaller quantities. Anekdot transforms these deadstock silk fabrics into contemporary, new garments, mainly lingerie, kimonos and accessories.
Curious about the collection of Anekdote? Visit the Anekdot brand flagship store in Berlin or visit the webshop.
Becultures
Another brand that works with deadstock silk is the Brussels brand BeCultures. The brand was founded by the Moroccan Nesrine, who carefully collected more sustainable, culturally enriched materials during her travels. In this way she strives to weave cultural heritage into the daily life of modern European society. In addition to deadstock silk, you will also find many other deadstock materials in the collection of BeCultures.
Curious about the collection of BeCultures? Visit the BeCultures store in the Etterbeek district of Brussels or visit the webshop.
