- Silk, the Queen of Textiles. From it's accidental discovery by a Chinese Princess over 5,000 years ago, silk has owned and maintained this title, and many others such as 'The Royal Fabric'. Silk is one fabric that allows the wearer to keep cool in summer and warm in winter. It's special properties make it useful in many other areas as well, from manufacturing to defense to medicine. Silks being highly durable and expensive fabrics, are handed down from grandmother to mother to daughter, in an unbroken line of sentimentality and tradition.
- Silk apparel is usually a must wear at every Indian wedding, for both the bridal party and the attending guests.
- There are four distinct types of silk: Mulburry silk( the domesticated silkworm), which forms most of the fabric produced worldwide and the wild silk or Vanya silk i.e., Eri, Tasar and Muga. Eri silk is highest producing popular Vanya silk of India. It is mainly practiced in Assam and few other states of the country. Tasar silk, that is mostly used in its natural colour i.e. without dyeing is specially loved by those who don't like artificial colouring. Muga is the "Golden SIlk" that is found exclusively in India's northeastern state of Assam.
- Silk being the exclusive commodity that it is, however, has many imitators of which the general public is not aware. The common man does not know how to differentiate between fake and real silk. Then came Silk Mark.
- SMOI ( The Silk Mark Organisation of India ) was created under the auspices of Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, to deal with just such malfeasances and misdirection. The SMOI team has been making great strides in the reduction of such fake silks, and also in educating the general populace on how to identify and choose real silk, in order to get the true value for every rupee they spend on silk.
- The several lakhs of silk workers are benefited, and the consumers of silk are protected by SILK MARK, THE WORLD'S ONLY ASSURANCE OF PURE SILK!
COLLECTED THIS INFORMATION FROM, K.S. GOPAL ( EDITOR-IN CHIEF)
