BEAUTIFUL SILKS ECO FRIENDLY Products -

Silk is the ultimate environmentally friendly fibre. Silk has been cultivated by humans for thousands of years. Silk needs leaf material to eat and trees and shrubs are cultivated to feed the silk. Chemicals ccannot be used in cultivation as silk worms are sensitive to chemicals and will not develop unless the leaves are clean. To see something of how silk is made link here.

Many clients ask about killing silkworms to produce silk. It is true that silk worms are killed whilst they are in pupate. This is done by putting the deeply pupated cocoon into very hot steam which kills the bug instantly. The silk bug is then not wasted, it becomes a sourrce of protein and medicines. In many countries, the silk bug is the only protein available for children to eat. This cycle has been symbiotic between humans and bugs for thousands of years. Ahimsa silk is marketed as being more animal friendly. However Ahimsa or peace silk masks a terrible truth. To produce this silk, men stand guard over the silk producing forests, with guns, killing birds who might feast on this delectable snack. Some clients have chosen to use soy thinking they are helping the animals and the environment.

Soy is not traded at Beautiful Silks. Soy is touted as an eco friendly product but the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, for agriculture, is in part due to massive world demand for soy. Link to information about this. The Brazillian government has also stepped up efforts to end slavery in the Amazon. While Brazil officially abolished slavery in 1888, the government acknowledges that at least 25,000 Brazilians work under "conditions analogous to slavery," clearing land and working for cattle ranches, soy farms, and other labor-intensive industries. Some groups say the true figure could be ten times that amount. In 2005, 4,133 slaves were freed after Brazilian Swat-style teams raided 183 farms.

At Beautiful Silks, we visit our suppliers and deal with professional organisations who employ adult silk and textile workers. We delete supplies that are suspect and although we can trade competitively we are not driven soley on price. We look for quality consistency professionalism and integrity in our suppliers.

Link here to see sustainable: fabrics .....yarns.........fibres and garments.

Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realise that we can't eat money. ~Native American Indian Cree proverb~