Brand skin care Seresilkhas a mission to create an ethical silk industry and has developed chemical and cruelty-free silk-based products as a first step towards achieving that.

Taylor Battistella founded Seresilk in 2021 after working with silk since he was 12. His first business was selling silkworms to schools and private customers.

Learning about the therapeutic benefits of the natural thread for skin care, Battistella decided to focus his expertise on skin care and Seresilk was born, derived from the Ancient Greek word ‘Seres’, which translates to ‘land of silk’.

“Seresilk was developed from a desire to create a worry-free skincare routine that takes advantage of silk’s incredible natural healing properties,” said Battistella.

The silk trade originated in China, where the women on silk farms were known for having the softest hands in the world, and despite the efforts of their manual labor, silk took credit.

Seresilk uses cruelty free and chemical free Ahimsa (the Hindi word for peaceful or non-harmful living beings) silk, harvested without harming the silkworms.

Seresilk soft silk cleaner. Photo: Delivery

The company’s products include a gentle silk cleanser, pure silk exfoliator, silk night serum, and silk night cream.

Typically, the harvesting of silk means the death of the silk moth larvae (the cocoon is boiled in hot water before the ), something that animal welfare advocates criticized along with modern Indian founder Mahatma Gandhi, leading to the creation of Ahimsa silk .

“Silk is usually harvested using cruel breeding practices; however, our silk is unique and is not only Australian but also completely cruelty free,” said Battistella.

Seresilk uses recyclable packaging and to give back, the brand has partnered with three charities.

Online sales are rounded up, with buyers given options to vote on who the donations go to. The money raised is then allocated monthly based on the percentage of votes for which each option is selected.