Cruelty-free Silk?

Of all the things I eschew due to my veganism, the one that most people have the hardest time getting is that I don't buy/wear silk.

Because indeed the silk worms die to clothe us.

Now Treehugger introduces us to a new Norwegian brand of "cruelty-free" silk, where they wait for the worm to emerge from its cocoon and use what is left behind.

I admit it's intriguing to me, although there's little info about what happens next: Do the moths just fly off to live free, unfettered lives in Norway?

But it actually doesn't eliminate the larger ethical issue that most vegans adhere to: that we are not entitled to use animals for our own purposes. That old PETA slogan: animals are not ours to eat, wear or experiment on" (or something like that.)

Now, the brand, FIN, has a crappy web site with frames and images, so I can't just link you to their description of the product, or even cut and paste it, but they describe it like this:

If it's really as idyllic and "natural" as they describe it's hard for even philosophical stickler me to reject wearing that!

Now, if only the line name Eco-Lux wasn't quite so accurate. Yeah, it's pricey.

Comments

[Natalie]

There is a cruelty-free silk brand called Ahimsa Silk. They wait until the moths have left their cocoons, and then produce silk from them. The moths get to fly away and live their full life cycle freely. I'm also Vegan, but i'm considering purchasing some silk from them. I believe it should be allowed, as no animals are killed or restricted to live out there full life.

Here's the link:

http://www.ahimsapeacesilk.com/

[Caitlin Richards]

That is not necessarily true. Only a small percentage of the moths are allowed to hatch and fly off into the wild and lay their eggs, the rest are killed for production of regular reeled silk. Also, the moths that are allowed to hatch almost immediately lay eggs which the farmers are not able to feed because there are so many, so the larvae that hatch simply starve and die, or they are sold for food as they are considered a delicacy in some parts of Asia.

[Ropeh]

You do realize they're just exploiting your lifestyle, right?

[Elisa Camahort Page]

Who is this "they" you speak of Ropeh?

[Incredulous In The Universe]

Are you kidding me? I've always thought ppeta and the vegan movement was off its rodker a bit if it did have its heart in the right place but this is insane.
BTW you're idiots to believe this since silk thread can only come from an unbroken coccoon. You'd have to sort out millions of half inch long threads ind ividually if you allowed the worm to break out of its crysalis. Then to spin them together into longer thread one at a time, and so on. It just isn't worth it unless you're willing to pay several thousand dollars for a shirt or scarf. Its idiocy

[animal eater 7]

Every time a vegan chooses not to eat an animal it just leaves an extra animal for me to use to clothe myself with then eat. Sometimes I even eat 3 extra animals for every one you don't eat.

[Elisa]

Well, this old old post obviously got linked at some charming site. Welcome :)

[Caitlin]

Incredulous - The broken coccoons do produce short threads, these are not sorted individually, they are fed onto a spool in clumps which produces a yarn (the same process is used to spin clumps of cotton, hemp, or wool into yarn) instead of producing a thin, continuous thread like regular reeled silk. The yarn is then used to make a dense, thick, nubby fabric which is completely unlike traditional silk fabrics. It is still not completely cruelty free, however the process is more natural than producing man made silk immitation cloth which is extremely polluting to the environment so overall it is more environmentally friendly but is not cruelty free. So, if you want something "silky" I guess you have to pick your poison. Otherwise stick to organic cotton, hemp, wool, tencel, some ecologically produced bamboo cloth (most is produced by very environmentally damaging proceedures), or vintage clothing.

[Cotton Tapestries]

"Because indeed the silk worms die to clothe us." - i laughed so hard. You serious ? If yes, than you are out of your mind. Get a real cause ! Go Africa for instance.

[Elisa Camahort Page]

Cotton Tapestries (gee, that's such an interesting name) you have no idea how many and which causes I support. So, why don't you tell us all about yours?

Seriously your argument is such a straw man.