Traditionally, silk has been used by Thais for a variety of culture-related purposes
and it has become a part of the region’s cultural heritage. Traditional Thai silk is
hand woven; as a result, each silk fabric is unique and cannot be duplicated
through commercial means. The Thai silk industry is distinct in Southeast Asia for
its predominant use of handlooms (Rani, 1998; Graham, 2011). Thai silk is
mainly produced by rural women and elderly household members and it has
provided economic support to thousands of household in the northeast of Thailand
for centuries. However, due to labour-intensive production and the uncompetitive
features of the silk being produced, the Thai silk industry is shrinking rapidly.
This happens partially because native and hybrid varieties of Thai yarn cannot be
machine reeled, but the persistence of hand-loomed silk can also be attributed to
the commercial viability of traditional fabrics which are not mass produced as
well (United Nations, 1994; Graham, 2011).