ERI SILK The special wild silk

Eri silk

For the filling of our natural comforter NATURAL SILK we use a very special type of wild silk. Unlike conventional silk, the GOTS-certified “Eri Silk” we use does not involve breeding animals to be subsequently killed in agony. Therefore, it is also called “peace silk” or “non-violent” silk.

Characteristics

Wild silk has particularly good thermal insulation characteristics. It can store body heat very well in the cold season and have a cooling effect in the summer. Until a complete cocoon is formed when a silkworm pupates, the caterpillar must wind the fiber around itself up to 300,000 times. This fiber runs without interruption and is the strongest fiber found in nature. The caterpillar of Eri silk produces a very durable silk that warms significantly better than other silks. The NATURAL SILK blanket provides a pleasantly dry sleeping climate, as the wild silk can absorb up to 30% of its own weight in moisture. Wild silk is also ideal for allergy sufferers, as it is particularly kind to the skin and dust mites find it difficult to settle in the smooth fibers.

Silk extraction

To extract the wild silk, cocoons of already hatched butterflies are used, which have already been abandoned. In Eri silk, the caterpillar produces a cocoon with an open end so that the so-called “goddess tree spinner” can hatch before processing without having to break it open and thus damage the fibers.

Further processing

To give the silk its characteristic luster and smooth cuddly characteristic, the abandoned cocoons are gently “debased” in a hot soap bath. In this process, the sericin, the so-called silk glue that holds the caterpillar’s cocoon together, is removed.