Top 10 Places to Buy Vegan Silk Sarees and Why You Should Buy Them Now!
Sarees are among the most sought-after traditional attire worn by women in India, especially during the wedding season. Although they’re beautiful when made of vegan fabrics, sarees made of the fibre that “silkworms”, a species of moth, use to weave their cocoons have an ugly side.
To produce one kilogram of silk, humans kill approximately 6600 silkworms, and about 50,000 silkworms are killed to make a single saree. Silk farmers boil or gas silkworms to death so that their protective cocoons unravel and workers can remove the undamaged silk threads.
That means that billions, if not over a trillion, silkworms are killed for this easy-to-replace material every year. They die extremely violent deaths, just for the sake of vanity.
So-called “ahimsa silk” or “peace silk” causes suffering and death, too. Instead of steaming or gassing silkworms to death inside their cocoons, “ahimsa silk” producers claim to let moths emerge frotheir cocoons. But Beauty Without Cruelty – India found the moths who emerge are deformed and unable to fly, so they die anyway.
In investigating “ahimsa silk” production, the group also found that after female moths lay eggs, they’re crushed to death in a mixer, and if any disease is detected, their eggs suffer the same fate. Male moths are tormented by being kept in refrigerators and brought out occasionally to breed. When they can no longer mate, they’re chucked into bins and left to die. Others are tossed outside to be eaten alive by birds.
Indian couturier JJ Valaya won Best Vegan Fashion Moment in the PETA India 2022 Vegan Fashion Awards for launching an environment-friendly collection for his new label JJV, made using TENCEL Luxe vegan silk.
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Tata-owned Taneira’s Vegan Visions collection in collaboration with TENCEL Luxe is stunning and stylish. The collection won the award for Best Vegan Sarees in the PETA India 2022 Vegan Fashion Awards.
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Favourite celebrity designer Anita Dongre is a vegan and an animal-lover and has always been fur- and leather-free. She’s a strong advocate for sustainability, and her brand House of Anita Dongre is PETA-certified. Take your pick from her luxurious and vibrant Magic Magpies Saree Sets made of sustainable, vegan fabrics.
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Ghatkopar stores specialise in ethnic wear, bridal lehengas, and vegan sarees that are luxurious and beautiful. The company was also presented with PETA India’s Best Vegan Sarees award in 2020!
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Another winner of PETA India’s Best Vegan Sarees award in 2021, Shubam Sarees offers a wide range of traditional vegan silk kanjivaram sarees from the remote villages of Tamil Nadu. Their popularity shows that the demand for animal-friendly clothing and accessories is skyrocketing.
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This shop is India’s first vegan silk boutique certified by the organisation Beauty Without Cruelty, specialising in fashion with compassion. Shoppers can find an array of sustainable wraps here that no silkworms were killed for.
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Finding stylish vegan ethnic sarees is simple at Shobitam, a company that strives “to help people look good, feel good, and do good”.
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Check out Kosigam’s traditional yet trendy range of vegan silk sarees woven from banana fibres. Not only will they look good on you, they’re also good for your wallet.
Dharah offers animal-free, sustainable, and fashionable vegan sarees: what more could you want?
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You can choose from a wide selection of cotton sarees at Sri Aishwarya Sarees. Its colourful and comfortable garments will move you – to make a quick purchase.
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That should get you started on your vegan shopping spree. But these aren’t the only places that offer vegan sarees. Before buying, simply check the label or ask a salesperson to show you the store’s cruelty-free, vegan sarees.
Happy saree shopping!
