Why vegan?

Leather :: Wool :: Fur :: Animal Testing :: Down :: Silk

The hubris behind silk production.

Even to otherwise compassionate people, silkworms may not seem like a creature worth defending from exploitation. I imagine many of us might claim that a silkworm doesn't meet the necessary conditions for being a victim of exploitation in the first place.

And sure, I can admit that, in an artificially constrained hypothetical, I believe it would probably be better to exploit silk worms than to exploit cows or dogs or sheep or geese or foxes or many other creatures besides. I can also admit that I believe it's better to start with liberating those "higher" animals first if we must incrementally wean ourselves off our exploitative habits.

But less wrong isn't equivalent to right. Like all industries that rely on the bodies of living creatures, the silk industry institutes an unnatural, accelerated cycle of life and death for the insects used to make the silk. (Death is typically caused by excessive gas or heat -- this is one of the better write-ups I've found describing the whole process.) Exploitation is only even potentially excusable when it is the only practical means of fulfilling some true need, but I doubt there are many who would propose that any of us needs silk.

In silk operations, the insects are viewed and treated as inanimate commodities, nothing more. (If you've read the other elements of the Why vegan? FAQ, you've probably noticed a pattern by now.) I am hard-pressed to think of anything more arrogant than wholly appropriating the lives of other creatures -- literally claiming to own others' bodies. In that regard, the silk industry is no different from the animal industries we often more willingly deem immorally exploitative.

As always, it's up to individuals and businesses like us to make a stand. The Ethical Man doesn't sell silk. In fact, right now we have fantastic non-silk long ties and bow ties for sale in our shop. But, whether or not you shop with us, we ask that you please make a similar commitment: don't buy silk.

Thanks for reading,
Dan

summary

Buying silk needlessly supports an exploitative process that abides by the same assumptions and practices analogous to the larger animal agriculture industry. Alternatives to silk are readily available, including rayon and nylon. More natural alternatives are also being developed from plant sources such as milkweed, the ceiba tree, and the silk-cotton tree.