Rajshahi Silk is the name given to the silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

 products produced in Rajshahi

Rajshahi

The city of Rajshahi is the divisional headquarters of Rajshahi division as well as the administrative district that bears its name and is one of the six metropolitan cities of Bangladesh. Often referred to as Silk City and Education City, Rajshahi is located in the north-west of the country and...

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

. It is a famous name in the domain of clothing, especially in sari

Sari

A sari or sareeThe name of the garment in various regional languages include: , , , , , , , , , , , , , is a strip of unstitched cloth, worn by females, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles. It is popular in India, Bangladesh, Nepal,...

s.

Rajshahi silk is a delicate and soft fibre produced from the cocoons of silkworms and is covered with a protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 called Sericin

Sericin

Sericin is a type of protein created by Bombyx mori in the production of silk. Silk emitted by the silkworm consists of two main proteins, sericin and fibroin; fibroin being the structural center of the silk, and sericin being the sticky material surrounding it....

. There are mainly three varieties of silks.

• Mulberry
  Mulberry
  Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
  
   Silk
• Eri (or Endi) Silk and
• Tassar Silk.

Among these varieties, Mulberry silk is the finest and is therefore the most valuable.

Saris and other products made out of Rajshahi silk are coveted by users in the country and in foreign countries. Rajshahi silk is available as fabric

Textile

A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...

 in colors and patterns for designers. Silk fabric is available in ranges for apparel and for other purposes.

Rajshahi houses a number of silk industries and a Silk Research Institute. The region's sericulture

Sericulture

Sericulture, or silk farming, is the rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk.Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, Bombyx mori is the most widely used and intensively studied. According to Confucian texts, the discovery of silk production by B...

accounts for almost the entire silk output of Bangladesh. Approximately 100,000 people are directly or indirectly employed in this sector.