Silk Trends

Silk is gaining in popularity not only for its beauty but also because it is an environmentally friendly luxury product. Silk blends are an answer to synthetic fibres. Silk has been blended with other fibres, such as cotton, linen, wool and even polyester.
Knitted silk products are gaining in popularity due to their comfort. Consumers are attracted by garments that are soft, comfortable, casual and easy to maintain. Knitted silk has the advantage of being a casual yet "quality" silk product, and continues to grow in popularity.

After introducing silk thermal underwear for outdoor living, other types of knitted silk garments are now being exported from China such as T-shirts, camisoles, polo shirts and sweaters. Silk fabrics also are slowly growing in popularity for interior decoration, especially in uses for draperies, window treatments, and silk flowers.

Silk is within reach of most consumers. Imported silk garments from China today are affordable for Western and Japanese consumers. Silk used to be perceived as a luxury fiber worn only by the rich. But in the early 1990s silk became “democratized” with the rising popularity of machine washable sandwashed silks.

Silk garments from China sell at retail prices comparable with clothing made from cotton or manmade fibers. But traditional firms producing high priced silk merchandise fear that the image of silk has been devalued. Until recently, Western Europe was a centre of manufacturing for silk products while China supplied the raw material. However, China has been using more raw silk in its own factories, turning out cheap silk textiles and garments and exporting them to the West.

China has flooded Western markets with less expensive garments. However, it is looking to upgrade its quality and is turning to Western and Japanese silk processors and machinery manufacturers for expertise and technology.

Labor-intensive raw silk cultivation has declined rapidly in advanced economies leaving China with 70% of the world output. However, other countries are becoming more competitive. Brazilian silk production has been developed with the aid of Japanese investment. India and Vietnam are upgrading their sericulture and could become additional sources in the future. What is the result of the changing silk market? Silk prices continue to fall, both for silk fabric and for items made of silk.

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