Editing Silk (section)

==Animal rights==
As the process of harvesting the silk from the cocoon kills the larvae by boiling, sericulture has been criticized by animal welfare activists,<ref name=Stancati2011>{{cite news |last1=Stancati|first1=Margherita|title=Taking the Violence Out of Silk|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/01/04/taking-the-violence-out-of-silk/|access-date=22 January 2015|agency=Wall Street Journal|date=4 January 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122231507/http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/01/04/taking-the-violence-out-of-silk/|archive-date=22 January 2015}}</ref>  including [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals]] (PETA), who urge people not to buy silk items.<ref>{{cite web |title=Down and Silk: Birds and Insects Exploited for Feathers and Fabric |date=19 March 2004 |publisher=[[PETA]] |url=https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/animals-used-clothing-factsheets/silk-birds-insects-exploited-fabric/ |access-date=23 January 2014 |quote=Silk Production Causes Painful Death for Insects |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201181101/http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/animals-used-clothing-factsheets/silk-birds-insects-exploited-fabric/ |archive-date=1 February 2014}}</ref>

[[Mahatma Gandhi]] was critical of silk production because of his [[Ahimsa]] (non-violent) philosophy, which led to the promotion of cotton and [[Ahimsa silk]], a type of [[wild silk]] made from the cocoons of wild and semi-wild silk moths.<ref name="AlexanderCentenary1968">{{cite book |last1=Alexander|first1=Horace Gundry|last2=Centenary|first2=National Committee for the Gandhi|title=Mahatma Gandhi: 100 years|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=LGVuAAAAMAAJ|page=349}}|year=1968|publisher=[[Gandhi Peace Foundation]]; Orient Longmans}}</ref>