Or knit with it…
Silk is a fibre made by larvae to protect them while they metamorphose into their adult form. It is very fine, soft, and strong, and when collected and made into clothing etc, is light and soft against the skin, yet very durable.
But it requires the death of thousands of creatures. The cocoons are “stifled” (they don’t call it killing), before the silk can be harvested. I don’t have any scientific knowledge of whether they feel pain or not, but to me that is beside the point.
To kill another creature to save my own life is one thing, to kill for comfort and luxury is quite another.
For an in depth explanation of silk “processing”, listen to this
http://media.libsyn.com/media/fibercast/Episode5.mp3
Since I know that angora bunnies are farmed for their coats, and I know that bunnies are intelligent and sensitive creatures, I also won’t buy or knit with angora. And NZ possum? Four Australian possums were taken to NZ many years ago, and now they have reached plague proportions. Many people have no problem using the fur from their pelts to knit with, knowing that the animal was killed to get it. I’m just not comfortable with that.