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

[t3hWC]

You all realize that silkworms, as a species (bombyx mori) do not exist in freedom because they are the product of millennia-long artificial selection, right? They can't even fly, it's impossible for them. I breed silkworms as pets, and—though adorable—they are the most defenseless, useless animal in existence. If you take food away from them, they don't even move to look for more, they just shake their heads in despair. If someone thought “they should be free” and dropped them in a field it would lead to their death by starvation.

The only way the species can survive is if humans take care of them. So, if a site really assumes you're ignorant enough to believe the moths can fly away when as a species it is impossible for them to fly, it sounds quite fake to me. Even if they flew away to mate their breed would never survive unless the eggs were planted in a mulbery tree, and how long would they survive? Not much.

I think it's just best to not wear silk at all, if you're worried about them.

[Molly Craig]

Great info on Ahimsa silk at this website

http://www.wormspit.com/peacesilk.htm

Please read it before you decide to buy Ahimsa silk.

[kim/the maker mom]

Hi Elisa,

I saw this post on your sidebar when I clicked through to your TJ bag story. I once raised silkworms for my son's science project. It was a wondrous process, not without it's roadbumps. We decided to harvest some of the silk, which I did felt bad about, but here's the deal with the adult moths: They don't eat; they don't even have mouths. They exist only to breed. The mating process is basically insert part A into part B and leave it like that for a day or two, uncouple, female lays eggs. Both die. Fin.

Honestly, watching them live our the full life cycle was almost as depressing as sacrificing them.

You can read more about out silkworm adventures here: http://www.themakermom.com/2012/08/silkworm-science-fun-with-little-ones.html

[Elisa Camahort Page]

wow, thanks for sharing, Kim, i'll check out your story!