In the interim, both Japan and China have already diversified into manufacturing high-end products using silk derivatives. One such product is fairness cream, which has cericin as a raw material. Cericin is a material which is derived by de-gumming silk yarn.
The process of de-gumming, which helps to add lustre to the yarn, sees the yarn being subjected to high pressure and temperature. The cericin is used to manufacture not merely fairness cream but also toilet soaps.
The ongoing “Silken Splendour-2005” in Bangalore has products from China and Japan like a fairness cream made from cericin on display. India with an annual silk production of about 15,000 tonnes trails China which is the major producer of silk with an output exceeding 55,000 tonnes.
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