silkworm
Do you ever wonder what that silk dress you wore to your friend’s birthday party is made of? You have had a good time at the party, put away the silk dress and continue your day. However, where does that silk come from? Today I’m going to tell you the process responsible for the creation of your silk dress and the journey of that silk dress but also that process is responsible for the deaths of thousands of silkworms.
All right, but how is this possible, how can making silk lead to the death of thousands of silkworms? Well, the answer is in the question itself, silkworms are used for making silk and for making all types of silk. The process of how silkworms turn into a silk dress in your closet is very painful and heartless. Silk is derived from the cocoons of larvae, so most of the insects raised by the industry don’t live past the pupal stage. Roughly, 3,000 silkworms are killed to make a pound of silk. This means billions of them, if not trillions of them, are killed for this every year. While worms can’t show pain and suffering in ways humans can understand, there is clear scientific evidence that silkworms as living beings are capable of feeling emotions and are sensitive creatures.
So how is this done? Well, silkworm cocoons are boiled to death in hot water to kill the silkworm, the process is extremely painful for the silkworms. Then the cocoons are woven into items that are made of silk. This process is called Sericulture. Not only is the current process of making silk inhumane but also it’s bad for the environment, it is the second–worst material for the environment after leather.
It may sound easy to give up in front of such a challenging problem. But we can’t do that, trillions of silkworms are counting on us to help them. As a consumer you can do a lot, you can use cruel–free alternatives like nylon, silk–cotton tree, and ceiba tree filaments, polyester, and rayon are easy to find and are less expensive than traditional silk. If you are an animal activist, you can protest and make your voice heard by businesses and the government and demand businesses use cruel–free alternatives of traditional silk. If you plan on starting a shop that sells clothes, avoid using silk and use silkworm and environment-friendly options, also tell your consumers about the importance of avoiding buying traditional silk and the importance of using cruelty–free alternatives. The road ahead may be challenging but if everyone works together, we will live in a world that is kind to all living beings including silkworms.
