Vegetarian Star

With Kate Middleton and Prince William‘s wedding approaching soon, many fashion enthusiasts are speculating about the details of the dress.

The UK Daily Mail predicts it will be silk and raises questions about the ethics of such material.

If you’re the extra sensitive vegetarian who puts the ladybug you find on the organic strawberries outside in the grass or still feel guilty that harvesting plants inadvertently kills insect and rodents, you of course treat silk like leather, wool and fur, where the worms that produce it are usually boiled or roasted while inside the cocoon. One figure estimates there are 6,600 worms killed for every kilo of silk harvested.

But there is an alternative and perhaps Middleton will take advantage of it.

Vegan silk or peace silk is derived at factories where workers wait until the moth has emerged from the cocoon before harvesting the silk. Actress Livia Firth was seen at the recent Golden Globe awards wearing a dress made from such materials.

Two UK designers offer these fabrics, Ivana Basilotta and British bridalwear company Tammam. The fabric manufactured by Tammam is done so by a women’s collective in Bangladore, India.

Tammam even found a different moth that produced silk easier to work with.

Normally, the peace silk that comes after the moth has munched through the cocoon has short threads that need to be spun like cotton. But Tammam uses the Eri Moth, found in the forests of Assam, which makes an open cocoon that doesn’t require eating through to escape, so the filaments are long.

Photo: PR Photos

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