Ahimsa Silk means no silkworm is killed during silk production.

Did you know that the luxurious soft silk we all love is actually a by-product of the silk worm which is killed during the production of silk yarn?  The cocoons are unraveled in boiling water to produce the fine silk filaments. So let's say in average, it takes 1500 silk worms to make one meter of woven silk cloth. This means 1500 silk worms are killed at the cocoon stage.

​

We are a company who respects nature and life. The tassels used in our malas are called Ahimsa silk.  When translated literally, Ahimsa means non-violence, but when looked at in a broader aspect, it incorporates love, tenderness, caring, and compassion for all of humankind, be it animal or plant.  All our mala tassels are made with eco-friendly, fair trade, and non-violent silk.

​

So what is the difference between normal silk production and Ahimsa silk production?

​

‘Normal’ Silk is made from the fibrous cocoon of the bombyx mori caterpillar (also known as the silkworm), the cocoon is boiled to loosen the silk fibers which of course kills the morphing caterpillar inside. From these boiling vats of silk fiber the threads are then wound onto spools to be turned into yarn.

​

During the production of Ahimsa silk, the silkworms (usually Eri or Tussar caterpillars) are allowed to live out their natural life cycle by eating their way out of the cocoon, the cocoon is then placed in boiling water to loosen the cocoon and then wound onto the spool. The difference apart from allowing the silkworm to live is that the fibers from the cocoon are naturally much shorter and are more difficult to make into silk yarn.

​

Our malas use two different types of Ahimsa silk. One is a machine spun Ahimsa silk (much finer and thread like) which is dyed using azo-free dyes (azo is a chemical known to cause environmental damage and some are carcinogenic in nature); the other type of Ahimsa silk is a hand spun, earth dyed (using organic dye found in nature) type of silk.  This last silk is more organic looking, rougher to the touch and of course can’t be made into finer items like clothing. 

​

We are so very proud of the fact that our malas are refrained from animal cruelty, that are able to advocate compassion and kindness in all forms, even if it means that our products cost slightly more. We believe our consciousness to all living things and the environment is much more important.