Madurai Messenger Spotlight August 2013
Unravelling the Ahimsa Silk story The consumer of today is faced with increasing ethical choices. One such dilemma has to do with traditional silk production that kills 1500 silk worms to make one metre of woven silk. Ahimsa silk, an alternative to such unsustainable practices and violation of animal rights, emerged as a result. However, Adam Pigott, who travelled the South Indian silk trail, argues that organic wild silk is the best alternative as the claims of Ahimsa silk of not causing injury to the moths is not really cruelty-free Text: Adam Pigott, United Kingdom
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ndia is the largest consumer and the second largest producer of silk in the world. It is used for the most glamorous and highly-prized saris, but comes with a price, not just monetarily for the consumer, but also in humane terms for the silk worms and often the people involved in the labour. The traditional method of extracting silk involves dissolving the cocoon in boiling water while the silk worm is still alive within. Sericulture is a hugely developed worldwide industry earning its livelihood from domesticated silkworms. A few moths are allowed to emerge to breed the needed population, but most of the cocoons are boiled or baked with the pupae inside. This process is carried out so that the silk fibers are not broken when the moth emerges from the cocoon. Conventional cultivated silk procurement would be considered a cruel process by many, in tandem with the growing movement across the world towards supporting animal rights. It is estimated that 1500 silk worms are killed to make one meter of woven cloth. These approaches may also involve the exploitation of humans. It is rumoured that the fashion and textile industries are notorious for exploiting workers with long hours, dangerous working conditions and extremely low wages. It has even been said that silk
that is not specified as Fair Trade may involve sweatshop labour. However, an alternative is available for those dissatisfied with the cruelty involved in the production of silk. Kusuma Rajaiah researched and created a technique for acquiring silk without killing the moths in 1991. His patented Ahimsa Silks are synonomous with no child or forced labour and no discrimination over sex. The Hindi word Ahimsa means ‘non-violence’, and it is also referred to as ‘peace silk’ for this reason. The most famous expounder of ‘non-violence’ was Mohandas Gandhi, who was also critical of the old methods as it conflicted with the Ahimsa philosophy ‘not to hurt any living thing’. Non-violence is the practice of being harmless to self and others under every condition. It comes from the belief that any outcome can be achieved without hurting people, animals or the environment. It refers to a general philosophy of abstinence from violence based on moral, religious or spiritual principles. In the Ahimsa method, the silk is only extracted from the cocoon after the worm has matured into a moth and has flown away. Mr Rajaiah’s hope is not necessarily for a complete nationwide adoption of the use of Ahimsa silk, but just to make a difference. He states on his website, “people are becoming more environmentally aware and compassionate to animals’, adding ‘we are confident it will be adopted by those who are concerned about flora and fauna.”
The Bombyx Mori is completely domesticated
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The Bombyx Mori
Unfortunately, despite the promotion of sustainability and conservation attached to Ahimsa Silk, it is not necessarily a clear-cut situation.
Kusuma Rajaiah, who patented the Ahimsa silk, proudly displays the end product
The now fully-domesticated Bombyx mori moth has been bred for entirely economic and commercial reasons. The idea has been to produce healthy moths with the best possible silk production rates. However, the financial capacity of the moth has always been the prime motivation rather than the health of the creature,
The traditional method of extracting silk involves dissolving the cocoon in boiling water while the silk worm is still alive within. Sericulture is a hugely developed worldwide industry earning its livelihood from domesticated silkworms. A few moths are allowed to emerge to breed the needed population, but most of the cocoons are boiled or baked with the pupae inside