Many major luxury goods firms have long made place a key part of their identity, and a visit to a traditional silk-weaving centre in Vietnam shows that the approach could work for small firms too.
Spider silk is a bit like a cross between steel and rubber.
Mai Lam/The Conversation NY-BD-CC
Spider silk is strong stuff and could be used to manufacture ultra tough ropes and cables, and better sutures in medicine. If only we could find a way to make the stuff.
Spider silk is just one of the ways nature has inspired innovation.
Silk image from www.shutterstock.com