Peace Silk

COCOON PEACE SILK

Cocoon Peace Silk is the first animal-friendly range of silk duvets in the world, and the only one of its kind. The silk duvets are unique, as the duvets are made exclusively with Mulberry Peace Silk – a silk that is not produced using the traditional method, where the silkworms are killed to extract the silk. The silk duvets contain 100% organic Mulberry Peace silk, and with an outer spring of 100% certified organic cotton.

A COCOON silk duvet is suitable for those who want a temperature-regulating all-season duvet, made from pure organic and allergy-friendly materials. The hollow structure of the silk fiber is what gives the silk its unique absorbency, and makes it easier for moisture to be transported through the fiber. This gives the duvet fantastic breathability and ensures a dry and comfortable sleeping environment throughout the night. As house dust mites and mold do not thrive in these environments, silk duvets are often recommended for allergy sufferers and asthmatics.

Silk duvets are thinner duvets, as the silk fibers are incredibly thin and are very dense in the patterning. Many therefore mistakenly believe that a silk duvet can only be used as a summer duvet. However, a silk duvet can be used all year round, due to the fiber's hollow fiber structure.

The hollow structure means that the silk fiber responds quickly to changing temperatures in the sleeping environment, and creates a thermoregulating effect around the body. This means that regardless of whether you tend to freeze or feel too hot, a silk duvet will always adapt to the body's needs.

THE CONVENTIONAL SILK INDUSTRY

Unfortunately, the sad truth is that the vast majority of us either don't want to understand, or don't care, how conventional silk is produced. The result is that hundreds of millions, perhaps even billions of silkworms are killed each year before they can become a silk butterfly. All because we as consumers demand products produced with silk, without thinking more about the consequences.

It takes about ten days for a silkworm to hatch from its egg. The silkworm will then begin to feed continuously for about a month until it has reached its optimal weight, approximately 10,000 times heavier than when it hatched. Depending on the species of silkworm, the caterpillars will eat different kinds of leaves. Silkworms of the species Bombyx Mori eat mulberry leaves, and their silk is therefore characterized by the name Mulberry silk. When the silkworm is fully grown, it will begin to spin a shell of silk, also called a cocoon. This can take between three and eight days.

In order to maximize the yield, in some cases, in conventional production, the silkworms will be given a growth hormone called Methoprene, which causes the caterpillar to spin silk for a longer time. A cocoon produces around 500 meters of silk thread, so an extension of the spinning time can therefore potentially make a big difference to the yield. Inside the protective silk cocoon, the larva then enters the pupal stage, where it forms a hard shell around itself.

Normally, a silkworm would pupate for about two weeks before eventually eating its way through the cocoon and emerging as a silk butterfly. After this, it would be in a hurry to find a mate and reproduce, as it only lives about a week after hatching. Unfortunately, the silkworms never make it that far. In conventional silk production, the silk cocoons are boiled with the pupated larvae inside as soon as the silkworms have pupated.
This is done to preserve the silk cocoons whole, as the silk butterfly's excavation from the cocoon would shorten the silk fiber and complicate the further process. This is due, among other things, to that you can produce nicer silk meter goods from long silk threads. The value of a long silk thread is therefore higher than if the silk thread is bitten by the silk butterfly during its flight from the cocoon. As a consequence, around 6,500 pupated silkworms are killed for every kilo of silk extracted.

THE HUMANE SILK

In response to conventional silk production, a more humane method of silk production began to be developed, with a strong focus on animal welfare. The method was called Ahimsa, and originates from the classical cultural language Sanskrit, where it can be translated as "lack of desire to kill".

Ahimsa is an ethical principle that originates from the Jain, Hindu and Buddhist faiths, and which involves the preservation of all living things on earth. Ahimsa therefore also means protection of the environment and natural habitats. The Ahimsa method therefore not only places a strong focus on animal welfare, but also on ecology and chemical-free production. As Ahimsa silk has become more widespread, the silk has become known under the more international name Peace Silk.

The difference between conventional silk production and the extraction of Peace Silk can already be seen when the silkworm eggs hatch. Contrary to the conventional method, the silkworms are fed only with mulberry leaves from organic mulberry trees. The larvae are not given growth hormones, and will not grow as large as silkworms in conventional production. Peace Silk larvae will therefore not spin for as long as regular larvae, and the yield will therefore also be less.

After the Peace Silk caterpillars have pupated, each individual silk cocoon is carefully cut open, and the silk pupae are placed among mulberry leaves, from which the silk butterflies can be allowed to hatch. It takes about ten days from the time the silkworm pupates until it hatches as a silk butterfly. After this, the silk butterflies will focus on finding a mate and reproducing before they go out into the wild again.