Why Silk?

Hear from people just like you

Best travel wear

I bought this for an overseas holiday travelling through hot and cold areas. The absolute best, light weight, rolls up easily and creases drop out. Also have leg liners and have worn them as leggings and pjs. I wish I had more SilkLiving clothing. I love the fabric.

– Sue on the Silkspun Longline Cardigan

Only tee I ever wear

I bought my first SilkLiving t-shirt before going to hike in Tasmania. I got advice that it would stay warm even wet (unlike cotton) and it would not stink (as synthetics). Since then, I do not wear any other t-shirt, period. It lasts for over 5 years until it starts to tear. It looks good all the way. It is the most comfortable fabric I ever experienced, whether I'm using it under my business shirt or my pyjamas. Summer or winter.

– Daniel on Men's Puresilk Short Sleeve Crew

My favourite piece of exercise gear

I love the headwarmer! I use it over my ears on walks and bike rides. Fits under my bike helmet, I don't overheat when walking and biking. Protects my ears from cold winds and the frost.

– Rachel on the Silkspun Headwarmer

See more customer reviews on silkliving.com

Our Story

A SILKBODY AND SILKLIVING GARMENT BEGINS WITH A TINY SILK CATERPILLAR

This fussy eater only eats freshly picked Mulberry leaves. The silkworm spins a cocoon with a single thread as long as thirty city blocks. Up to 600 cocoons are unwound to be made into a single SilkLiving garment.

DESIGNED IN NEW ZEALAND FROM AN ANCIENT FIBRE

Silk was first discovered in China 5000 years ago.

The secret of silk was closely guarded for thousands of years. Legend has it that two monks were sent by Rome to smuggle back silkworm eggs in their hollow canes, and so the secret of silk was revealed.

2000 years later, Silkbody and SilkLiving reveals the forgotten secret once more…

In 2002 Dunedin father and daughter team David and Emily Cooper released their range of natural silk clothing in New Zealand. Emily designed the range shortly after completing a degree in Clothing and Textile Science at the University of Otago in Dunedin.

With a knowledge of the performance properties of silk and the potential of this amazing fibre, Emily set about designing a range of clothing that embodied the traditional luxury of silk within high performance garments for everyday, sport and travel.

Silkbody and SilkLiving are now owned by Laurian Godwin-George.

“Silk has captured our imagination, as it did civilisations before us. At SilkLiving we are passionate about developing silk clothing for a new generation. In today’s world of petrochemical dependence, we believe it’s important to be able to wear clothing that’s completely natural. Each SilkLiving garment carries the story of its evolution - from the finest fibre spun by the tiny silk caterpillar, to the incredibly lightweight, luxurious finished garment. Once you discover Silkbody clothing from SilkLiving, you won’t want to wear anything else against your skin.”

Sustainablity

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Featured

1. Every Silkbody garment begins with a tiny caterpillar hatched from an egg laid by the silk moth.

2. Clipped morus alba - mulberry - growing in the fields.

3. Mulberry leaves are picked fresh daily.

4. Silk caterpillars are voracious eaters.

5. After about 20 days of eating they start to build their cocoons of silk.

6. The farmers sell the completed cocoons to the factory for processing.

7. At the reeling factory the cocoons are sorted.

8. The cocoons are unwound to remove the silk.

9. Reeled silk is transferred to spools ready for making into Silkbody fabrics.

Environmental responsibility is central to Silkbody and SilkLiving. Sericulture (silk production) is, by nature, earth-friendly: mulberry trees provide a renewable, high quality food source for silkworms and ensure no pesticides can be used.

Silk fibres are naturally absorbent, easy to dye, biodegradable, and has natural anti-static, flame-resistant and antibacterial properties, so no additional chemical treatments are needed. This makes our products biodegradable and easily decomposable in landfills and in home composts.

Our cotton and fine merino wool is sourced from northern China, where mulesing is not practised.

The factories that transform the cocoons into beautiful, affordable products are required to meet international standards for social compliance in the supply chain of commerce. We maintain high social and ethical standards across our factories. Employees are paid fair wages, and SilkLiving management regularly visits to ensure these standards are upheld. Once our garments are ready, they are sent to New Zealand via boat to save on Carbon emissions.

As a small family-run business, Silkbody and SilkLiving are proud to support and work with other small family businesses.

Laurian with silk farmers

Factory courtyard

Factory lunchroom

Our attention to sustainable detail carries through to our SilkLiving store. Our gift boxes are made of recycled cardboard and our branded tissue paper is sourced from sustainable companies who use recycled paper, making them perfect for decomposing at home. Any off-cuts of our luxury fabric are also used to create our accessories (like the Silkspun Scrunchies) to minimise waste as much as possible.

A return and reuse system is offered to NZ retailers, who are able to return garment packaging to SilkLiving for re-use or recycling with a refund incentive per box.

Office cardboard and paper is recycled or re-used. Through the Waste Exchange program run by the local council, SilkLiving donates excess packaging waste, such as cardboard, tissue paper and plastic bags to community organisations, schools and kindergartens for use in projects and teaching.

Where possible we employ local and national businesses for a range of services such as logistics, packaging, printing and communications.