Exploring vegan and cruelty-free silk
With roots dating back to ancient royalty, silk is considered synonymous with luxury. These days, silk pillowcases and silk pajamas are all over instagram with celebrity beauticians dubbing silk a best-kept beauty secret for anti-aging and hair breakage prevention. At the same time, fashion giants such as ASOS, under the pressure of consumers and animal welfare groups like PETA, are deciding to stop using silk altogether. So what’s the whole deal with silk?
Unravelling the truth behind silk production
Silk may come with beauty benefits, but unfortunately silk does not grow on trees and the source of this luxurious fabric is not quite as pretty as its look and feel. Silk production starts with our friend the silkworm—which is actually a caterpillar with terrible PR —and is a natural part of the creature’s life cycle. The silkworm produces a sticky protein and spins those fibers to create a cocoon for transformation into its adult form.This cocoon makes the base for silk production.
Sadly, there’s no fairytale ending for this hungry caterpillar. With the cocoon housing the raw material to make silk (and the friendly caterpillar), most silk producers boil, bake or steam the cocoon and caterpillar alive. This kind of silk production makes up 90% of the silk industry. Animal welfare group PETA estimates that 6,600 silkworms are killed to make just 1 kilogram of silk.
Source: QUARTZ
What about Peace silk—can silk be made without killing the caterpillar?
There is a kind of silk harvested from a different species of silkworm that allows for the moth to break free from the cocoon before the silk is collected. However, animal-welfare advocates including PETA are skeptical of how humane this method is, as there is currently no certification to ensure the process meets cruelty-free standards.
Does cruelty free and ethical silk exist?
Introducing CleanBamboo™, ettitude’s signature bamboo lyocell fabric—about as close as you can get to silk growing on trees. Dubbed “vegan silk,” this fabric feels just as luxuriously soft and is made cruelty free from 100% organic bamboo. ettitude is a PETA-approved vegan brand, meaning all of our products including our CleanBamboo™ are made with all-vegan materials.
Source: ettitude
So it looks like a dog but does it bark like a dog?
Our CleanBamboo™ has all the natural benefits of silk. Both fabrics are hypoallergenic, making them ideal for people with skin sensitivity and allergies. Both fabrics are gentle on skin and hair, reducing friction that can lead to wrinkles and helping to prevent hair breakage. If that wasn’t enough, CleanBamboo™ has the added benefits of being thermoregulating, breathable and machine washable. Traditional silk can’t compete.
Bottom line: you can have your cake and it too. With vegan silk options like CleanBamboo™, you can enjoy all the benefits that silk offers plus sleep easy knowing your bedding is cruelty free. Ready to try vegan silk? Enjoy our 30 night sleep trial on your first bedding order. If you’re not completely satisfied, return it for a full refund, no strings attached.