KOCHI: There is a high chance that the silk saree that you have bought recently could be a fake. Experts from Silk Mark Organisation of India, the group which promotes original silk in the country, say that six out of 10 silk products sold in Kerala are artificial, made with synthetic yarn which gives the very same look and feel of the original.
"Sale of fake silk is a serious issue in Kerala. As technology improved, synthetic fibres began to look exactly like silk fibre and now there are synthetic clothes which look like the original silk ones. And some unscrupulous clothes retailers are trying to pass them off as genuine silk," says GD Koshy, a consultant with Silk Mark. "Forget the illiterate, even the educated urban consumers are duped across the country," adds Koshy.
"Identifying genuine silk is difficult and hence Silk Mark is promoting authentic silk products through its partners across Kerala," says K Babu Giridharan, assistant director with Central Silk Board.
Started last year, 32 retailers in the state have signed up with Silk Mark to source and sell genuine silk through their shops and Silk Mark conducts workshops and seminars for dealers and periodical training for customer assistants on ways to identify fake ones among the lot they receive from suppliers.
It is easy money that is attracting clothes retailers or suppliers to fake silk. "Compare the value of base materials of both fake and the original. While original silk costs Rs 3,000 per kg, the synthetic yarn costs only Rs 300," Koshy explains. "If somebody offers you a silk saree below the price of Rs 1,000, then it could be fake," cautions Narayanankutty, a technical assistant with Central Silk Board.
When you consider volume of trade, fake silk products constitute around 60 per cent of what is being sold in the market, even though value wise it comes around 40 per cent of the total market.
According to Silk Mark officials, fakes are affecting the livelihood of 40 lakh families in the country who survive on this industry.
