silk news and archive

Greek silk road town finds itself back in fashion

Inside the machine-crammed Mouhtarides factory near the Greek-Turkish border, Ioanna Pistola deftly spins a silk thread in a loom, ignoring the deafening noise around her. "I've been working in this hall for 20 years," the middle-aged weaver shouts above the din. The dormant, isolated town of Soufli has been a key centre for Greek silk...

Fashion

Bangladesh seeks revival of silk industry

Bangladesh's silk industry is one of the oldest in the world, with farmers in the northwestern border district of Rajshahi producing some of the most sought-after silk yarns. They specialise in high-quality mulberry silk -- widely known as Bengal or Rajshahi silk -- produced by the larvae of moths fed on fresh mulberry leaves and used for...

Fashion Featured

Sustainable Textile Innovations: Banana Fibres

As the fashion industry heads towards a future where textile resources are scarce, natural fibres such as cotton, which remains a resource-intensive material, and petroleum-based fibres like acrylic, polyester, nylon and spandex remain high in demand. But as the production of these fibres continues to do irreversible damage to the planet, more...

Fashion

World leaders to don pineapple shirts in Philippines

Star Trek suits are out and pineapple shirts are in as the Philippines seeks to keep the world's most powerful leaders off the list of global summit fashion train wrecks. Boldly ignoring the ridicule levelled at past costumes, the Philippines is continuing the spotty tradition of dressing the heads of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)...