Ruskovilla_Catalogue_2018-2019

Breathtakingly gorgeous organic silk Ruskovilla's silk is now organic. Only the best for your skin. WONDERING WHAT ORGANIC SILK IS? Silk is an ancient and valuable natural material. Silk is still manufactured today using traditions that are thousands of years old. By far the most important producer of silk is the domestic silkmoth (Bombyx mori), whose larvae feed only on the leaves of the mulberry tree. The species has been domesticated and is farmed to produce silk. The greatest difference between organic and ordinary silk comes from the silkworm's nourishment. Inside the larvae's bodies, the leaves of the mulberry tree are turned into a material which the silkworms spin into a cocoon to protect themselves. The higher the quality of their nourishment, the higher the quality of the silk. The silkworms are fed organically farmed mulberry leaves which contain no chemical materials that are harmful to the environment. A good cocoon produces around 2,500m of silk fibre, 1,500m of which is a single thread known as filament silk, which can be spun directly from the cocoon. Ruskovilla's organic silk is precisely this single-thread filament silk. In recent decades, silk has become a mass-produced product, and the consequences of this can be seen as a degradation in the soil and a poorer quality of silkworms. But things can be done differently, which we saw with our own eyes when we visited the organic silk farm. Organic farming improves the state of the environment, and therefore farmers' living conditions in the long term. The method of farming involves more manual labour, which is good for employment in the rural area. Economic conditions also improve since the high-quality cocoons mean that production is better. In spring 2018, we were given the unique opportunity to visit the birthplace of organic silk, the province of Sichuan in China. An article about our trip can be found on pages 28-29. If you are interested in these fantastic creatures, you can read more about the different stages of silk production on our website at www.ruskovilla.fi .

care products on p. 73.

ADULTS • SILK • 25