Cruelty-free silk

Moth-friendly silk from India

If you are one of many people in the UK who do not buy silk because of the cruelty involved in its production, People for Animals from India has good news for you. This NGO has developed a new method of producing silk which does not involve boiling the worms or killing them before the larvae become moths. Ahimsa Peace Silk is extracted after the silkworm has completed metamorphosis and emerged from the cocoon - and it only uses cocoons from which the moth has escaped. The cocoons are collected from the wild and then the Ahimsa silk is spun by hand. A by-product of this production process is the protection of castor trees where the silk moths naturally breed, as well as new economic opportunities for local people who are being trained to make silk in this cruelty-free way. The chairperson of People For Animals, Ambika Gandhi, is currently in the UK promoting Ahimsa silk and so far the response has been very positive: Notting Hill shop Wigwam is already stocking a selection of peace silk and British designers Stella McCartney and Jasper Conran have both requested samples.

• Wigwam is at 25 Kensington Park Road, London W11. Telephone: 020 7727 8888.