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Silk
,Silk is a protein fibre produced by silkworms. As a silkworm develops into an adult it feeds on leaves and then spins a cocoon from one continuous silk strand or filament, approximately 914 meters yards long. Inside the cocoon the worm changes into a chrysalis, then into a moth, which then seeks to leave the chrysalis.[1 ] The moth achieves an escape path by secreting a liquid, which dissolves a hole in the cocoon through which the moth can then escape.[2]
Heat is used to soften the hardened filaments so they can be unwound. Single filaments are then combined with a slight twist into one strand, a process known as filature or "silk reeling."
===Processing===
Cocoons are soaked in [[sodium carbonate]] to soften in preparation for reeling (unwinding the filament from the cocoon). Silk fabric is then woven with the natural gum or [[sericin]] still on the yarn, acting as a natural sizing agent. There are several reported cases of allergies to silk, although these have been traced to the remnants of sericin in the finished product. After weaving, the gum is removed by boiling the fabric in alkali. This can result in a 20% reduction of the harvested weight of the silk. Some of this lost weight is added back by saturating the silk fabric in a bath of tin-phosphate-silicate salts. These processes can create a high biological load on the water, and deplete available oxygen for aquatic species if left untreated. Exposure to tin through breathing and skin contact can have acute and long-term effects on worker health if proper equipment is not used.[6]
<br/>Lightweight silk fabrics (fine gauge silk) are prone to wear and are degraded by exposure to sunlight and hot temperatures. They can also be susceptible to abrasion and twisting in laundering.[7]
==Sources==
# http://www.textileexchange.org/node/1096# http://www.naturalfibres2009.org/en/fibres/silk.html# http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/agri-biz/govt-may-use-wastelands-for-tasar-silk-cultivation/ article4479274.ece
# Slater, K. (2003), Environmental impact of textiles: production, processes and protection. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing, p27
# Slater, K. (2003), Environmental impact of textiles: production, processes and protection. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing, p27
# http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/sn.htm# http://www.treehugger.com/culture/qa-is-silk-green.html# http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/waste-decomposition-rates.html# http://hwww.theethicalsilkco.com/eco-friendly-silk/
Other:
http://www.bacsa-silk.org/en/the-prospects-of-the-european-sericulture-within-the-frame-of-the-eu-common-agricultural-policy/
ec.europa.eu/agriculture/quality/schemes/index_en.htm
http://www.cdfd.org.in/wildsilkbase/info_moths.php
greenopedia.com/article/cruelty-free-silk-fact-or-fiction
