by Neta E. Talmor
Silk became a part of human history in 27 BCE, and until the opening of the Silk Road around 1 BCE, its use was largely restricted to China. China continued to use silk extensively for the next thousand years and it could be found in clothing, paper and many other forms. It was an extremely expensive fabric and wearing fine silk was a sign of wealth and prestige, especially during the days of the Tang Dynasty.
It wasn't until 300 AD that silk production spread to Japan, and by 522, the Byzantines had obtained the technique. Around about this time period, the Arabs began manufacturing silk as well, and because sericulture was becoming more well known, silk imports from China became less important. Western countries like Italy began to export their own silk and the Renaissance saw a change in the method of production. France also started to trade silk with Italy, and they remained the two leaders when it came to silk in the European world that did not come from China.
dThe silk industry changed during the industrial revolution in Europe. The spinning wheel became innovative in spinning cotton, which resulted in cheaper manufacturing and silk production became more expensive. France never recovered from their silk industry when silkworm diseases became an epidemic. Japan began to produce silk and followed in the footsteps of China. China is still the largest producer in the world of the fabric. New fabrics like nylon were discovered and silk has become a rarity since the fabric is not as prevalent as it once was when it was first manufactured.
After the epidemic crisis in Western Europe, Japan began to modernize the sericulture and became one of the world's largest producers at that time. Italy rebounded from the silkworm epidemic but France never recovered. Italian and French agricultural workers stopped growing silk to export to other countries. Japan began to import raw silk when Western Europe stopped their production. Japan and other Asian countries began to export more silk garments.
During World War II, Japan's silk supplies were not being exported. Therefore, Western countries had to find silk substitutes and fabrics like nylon were replacing silk. After World War II, the Japanese silk industry could not regain its productivity.
However, it is still important to remember that technology had greatly improved the way that silk was manufactured and though nylon was still used as a substitute, Japan still took its place as the leader in raw silk exports after the war. By 1975, Japan was no longer exporting raw silk materials to the rest of the world.
China remains the world's largest producer of silk. In 1996, China produced 58,000 tons, followed in second place by India with 13,000 tons. Japan's production is very small at around 2,500 tons. In 1995 and 1997, China's silk production decreased to an astonishing 40%. The demand globally for silk in the 1990s also declined but the production was still strong in the United Kingdom and India. Silk's reputation has been tarnished due to the low quality of the fabric.
Today, silk is still being produced in the range of 125,000 tons all over the world. While China leads the world in silk production, Japan, Vietnam, Brazil, Korea, Thailand, India and the United States all produce it as well, with the United States being the world's largest silk importer.
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