Silk without guilt

Deepika Govind offers ethical fashionistas the choice of shawls and dresses in ‘Eri’ silk.

Ethical choice is now a lifestyle trend. Many people say no to silk, wool, leather, pearls and even bone china.

Bangalore-based fashion designer Deepika Govind has taken to eco-friendly Eri silk. Unlike ordinary silk, which is extracted after boiling silkworms in their cocoons, Eri harms no creature. “I am a vegetarian,” she says. “It killed me to see the silkworm perish while the yarn was spun. I had to find a way out.” Eri (also known as endi or errandi) is often called ‘peace silk’, as the process does not involve killing the silkworm. The Eri cocoons are open ended, allowing the moth to fly to freedom.

There’s also Ahimsa silk, derived from the mulberry silkworm. But it is a difficult process because the mulberry silkworm’s filament is very fine. So the Ahimsa silk is expensive to produce and almost impossible to manufacture on a large scale.

Govind’s journey with Eri began three-and-half years ago, and she has created a number of Eri products and blends. Instead of using acid dyes, Govind has been experimenting with vegetable dyes in shades of blue, jet black, twilight mauve and soft shell pink. Vegetable dyes, feels Govind, “work like the human skin, darkening or fading with a change in weather and light, and hence provide an ethereal sheen.”

So deep is her commitment to Eri silk that Govind has invested Rs 20-25 lakh in a captive yarn rearing centre, a research centre for organic dyes and a weaving and dyeing centre.