Cheat Sheet: The Wild World of Traceable Down

Free range. Cruelty-free. Ethically sourced. Phrases consumers are familiar with as we look for responsible alternatives to food, leather and fur goods. With several announcements made this week, the outdoor apparel industry is taking the search for responsible products one step further — ensuring down outerwear is produced with traceable down and educating consumers on the importance of using the ethically sourced insulation.

Long used in outdoor outerwear for its unbeatable ability to insulate against the cold, down production processes have been long criticized by animal rights organizations for the ill treatment of waterfowl. Following heavy critique in 2009-2010, the outdoor and textile industries joined together to begin working on a solution to the problem, and now several companies — our own clients Fjällräven and Nau, as well as Patagonia and The North Face, among others —  have formally announced their ongoing commitments to using traceable, ethically sourced down.

With multiple brands revealing their own sets of standards, how do we determine which is best? As Slate.com points out, many of the standards have overlapping guidelines and individual down processes are continually being redefined to match each other in terms of best practices. Apparel brands are beginning to work together to ensure proper treatment of animals through controlled production systems in order to clean up the supply chain.

The bottom line: traceable down is becoming an industry standard.

Interested in learning more? Full guidelines for the Fjällräven Down Promise, the Traceable Down Standard and the Responsible Down Standard, as well as a list of terms to know, are shared below.

Terms To Know

A short list of key words and phrases to help you navigate your way through the down supply chain.

Let's start with something easy…

• Down — The fine plumage on a waterfowl (i.e. ducks and geese) that sits under the outer feathers
• Live Plucking — Any form of removing down and feather from living waterfowl (a big no-no in every traceable down policy, though hopefully we didn't need to clarify that fact!)

Now for something a bit more challenging…

• Certification Body (CB) — An authorized third party carrying out inspection and certification in accordance to the provisions set out in a standard
  • Major Players in the CB Game to Know — Textile Exchange, International Down & Feather Institute, Outdoor Industry Association, Four Paws, among others

• Traceability — The ability to verify the origin of a product through documented recorded identification; traceability is used to verify proper treatment of waterfowl through all major steps of the down process, including the breeding, transport, slaughter, processing and production stages

A Closer Look At The Standards

Standard: Fjällräven Down Promise

• Led By: Fjällräven
• Full Guidelines

Standard: Traceable Down Standard

• Led By: Patagonia
• Full Guidelines

Standard: Responsible Down Standard

• Led By: Nonprofit Group Textile Exchange in Partnership with The North Face, Nau, Eddie Bauer, Marmot, Mammut, Outdoor Research, Helly Hansen, Montane, Down Linens and Down & Feather Co.
• Full Guidelines

— Kim