Natural Silk – Queen of Textiles

Natural silk, unfolded in its finest sensuous form, is nature's bounty to humankind. The enchanting sheen, amazing drape, enamouring feel, and radiant resplendence are some of its most distinct characteristics. The beauty of natural silk is so alluring that it even drove our ancestors to make it a part of many religious rituals.

The effort to artificially manufacture natural silk has led to the invention of a host of fibres like nylon and rayon, but an exact duplication of natural silk has so far proved difficult. Natural silk, thus, still remains the Queen of Textiles in all its glory.

 

Silk Mark – A Quality Assurance label

Research for the invention of a cheap imitation of natural silk may be in progress, but in the marketplace, there are numerous other materials sold under the name of silk, such as art silk and artificial silk.

Silk Mark is here to help you to identify pure silk. The silk consumer has long struggled to identify pure silk among numerous other fibres just like the consumer of gold had difficulty recognising its purity before the introduction of hallmarks.

Consumers and traders of genuine silk demanded that the Central Silk Board introduce measures to bring in fair practices to the trade. As a response to those demands, Silk Mark was launched on 17th June 2004. Silk Mark is promoted by Silk Mark Organisation of India (SMOI), a registered society under the Karnataka Society Act 1960. SMOI is an initiative of the Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles, and the Government of India. The Silk Mark labels are in the form of paper hangtags and sew-in labels. These are affixed only on pure silk products by the authorised users of Silk Mark. Each label has a hologram and a unique number printed on it, which helps the consumer trace the product back to the authorised user.

 

Objectives of Silk Mark

  • Protect the interests of the consumer.
  • Protect the interest of genuine traders and manufacturers of Silk
  • Generic Promotion of Natural Silk

 

Different types of Natural Silk

Out of over five hundred different types of silk spinning worms, only four are commercially exploited for the production of natural silk, namely mulberry, tasar, eri, and muga. The latter three varieties are collectively branded as ‘vanya' silks, which are wild silks. Vanya silk literally means 'forest silk'. India is the only country that currently produces all four types of natural silk.

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