The best Thai silk fabric is hand woven
There are two ways to buy Thai silk fabric from retail stores here in the US. You can go to the bigger chain stores and look for mass produced silk fabric. You’ll find it in large rolls, made in huge runs in massive Bangkok factories that employ hundreds and hundreds of workers who will toil in heat and noise for hours each day on low wages. This silk is flawless and cheap. Or you can go to the more upmarket, smaller stores and look at modest bolts of handwoven silk from rural producers in Northern Thailand. This material is hand made, durable, exotic and comes from honest village labor at its best. Usually working in small, informal co-ops, the weavers of Thailand’s villages can make quality silk and give you not only clothes that wear beautifully but a clear conscience.
