India: Mrs. Gandhi's NGO 'People for Animals' launches Ahimsa peace silk

Ahimsa Peace Silk has been developed by the largest NGO in the country, 'People for Animals'. Its Chairperson is the world-renowned environmentalist and animal welfare spokesperson Mrs. Maneka Gandhi.

In the Ahimsa Peace Silk division of People for Animals a large number of tribal weaver groups in Assam, Gujarat, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal have been trained for the production of these kind of silk textiles. Reputed designers and professionals have provided the groups with the latest design inputs, resulting in the production of a wide range of Ahimsa Peace Silk products like shawls, stoles, yardage, made-ups, saris, furnishing fabrics, knitwear, garments, rugs and other diversified products - and in the process traditional designs have been revived and adapted to current trends for new markets.

The items are in pure ahimsa silk fiber or blends and dyes used are natural as well as azo-free chemical dyes. Production lines have been systemized to give a continuous flow of such silk.

The traditional process of silk production requires the killing of hundreds of thousands of silk moths in their pupae stage by heating and boiling, though most consumers are not aware of this cruelty involved in the production process of normal reeled silk. Silk can also be made in a non-violent way, particularly non-mulberry silks.

Ahimsa Peace Silk does away with brutal practices in the production of silk without compromising on the quality of output - which actually improves because of fiber purity.

Unlike the conventional method where pupae are killed before reeling yarn from the cocoons, in the production of Ahimsa Peace Silk the adult moths are allowed to emerge alive from the cocoons and then the silk yarn is spun from the open-ended (eri) cocoons and from pierced tassar and muga cocoons that have been used in breeding cycles or those found in jungles.

Ahimsa Peace Silk creates unique products that appeal to the demand of environmentally conscious clientele all over the world that believes in non-violent and eco-friendly production processes.

It provides an alternative for discerning consumers to make their choices in such a way that even as they buy silk they are able to accord the respect that our fellow living beings on the earth deserve from us.

So far this option was not there for silk fabrics - now it is!

For further information contact :

Ms. Leelavati Sabale,Ahimsa Peace Silk (I) Pvt Ltd.
E-Mail : lsabale@ahimsapeacesilk.com

or Mrs. Maneka Gandhi,
E-Mail: gandhim@sansad.nic.in

Source: Ahimasa Times Dec 2005

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