Why We Don't Use Silk Mark Certification

If you've ever bought a silk saree, you've probably come across the Silk Mark label. It is meant to give you some assurance that what you're buying is genuine silk, which sounds like a good thing. So why don't we use it for our sarees?

Honestly, I have never felt that a certification was the thing that would tell me whether a saree was good enough to sell.

When I started working with Eri silk, I had a very different set of questions. I wanted to know who was making the sarees, how they were making them, what kind of yarn they were using, how the fabric felt, how the colours were developed and, most importantly, whether I would be happy to put my name on the finished product.

That meant spending time with the people actually making them.

I would rather know the weaver

Over the years, I have met and worked with a number of weaving families in Assam. I have visited their homes, seen their looms, looked at their work and talked to them about everything from colours and designs to timelines and finishing.

Some relationships worked out and some didn't. Finding good quality consistently wasn't always easy, especially when I was trying to build a collection that would introduce people outside Assam to Eri silk for the first time.

The weavers we continue to work with today are people whose work I know and trust. We have been working together since 2019, and that relationship has changed over time.

When we first started, I had to explain the quality standards I expected. I would check everything carefully when an order arrived and point out things that needed to be improved. After one or two orders, they understood exactly what I was looking for.

Now, when they send me an order, I know they have already checked it themselves.

That kind of trust is something that has been built over years. A certification cannot really replace it.

So what does a Silk Mark certification actually mean?

This is where I think there is a little confusion.

When we see a certification mark on a product, it's easy to assume that the particular product in front of us has been independently tested and certified.

But that isn't quite how Silk Mark works.

A business applies to become an Authorised User of Silk Mark. There is a registration process, a fee and an inspection of the applicant's premises. Once approved, the authorised user can use Silk Mark labels on their 100% pure silk products. The labels themselves have security features such as a unique number, hologram and QR code.

What this means is that the presence of a Silk Mark label provides an assurance within the Silk Mark system. But it shouldn't be confused with the idea that every individual saree carrying the label has been independently tested in a laboratory before it reaches a customer.

And this is exactly why I don't want to tell our customers, "Look for a Silk Mark and you'll know everything you need to know."

For someone buying a saree, there is much more to consider.

What I look at instead

I would rather tell you about how we actually source our sarees.

We know who makes them. We have been working with some of our weaving partners since 2019. We visit them, speak to them regularly, discuss the yarn, colours, designs and finishing, and have our own quality standards that they know they have to meet.

When I receive a saree, I'm not just looking at whether it is silk. I'm looking at the feel of the fabric, the weave, the finishing, the colour and how the saree has been put together as a whole.

And because I know the people who made it, I can also go back to them with questions.

That is the system I trust.

Not because it is a replacement for laboratory testing, but because it gives me a much deeper understanding of the textile and the people behind it than a label ever could.

So, why don't we use Silk Mark?

It's not because I think certifications are inherently bad.

It's because, for Arras, a certification isn't what gives me confidence in a saree.

That confidence comes from years of working with our weaving partners, seeing their work, setting quality standards, checking what comes in and building relationships that allow us to have an honest conversation when something isn't right.

I know this doesn't give you a little certificate to look for when you're shopping on our website.

Instead, I'm asking you to trust us to do that work for you.

And I think that's a responsibility worth taking seriously.