No to down, save the ducks

In the cooler months, we get out our warm jackets and coats again and take the winter blankets out of their summer break. Down has been increasingly used again in recent years, a natural filling material that wraps us in warmth. However, it has one flaw: many geese are plucked alive in order to obtain the valuable down feathers. In the EU, this is prohibited in principle, except during the birds' natural moulting period. A loophole yet to be closed.

Most of our down is imported from countries such as Poland, Hungary and, above all, China. There, live plucking is normal. There is also no animal welfare law. In our globalized world, it is virtually impossible to rule out using down from live plucking. The market is too opaque. This means incredibly painful animal suffering for the birds concerned. And several times over, which is why it is so popular with factory owners. Another advantage: the more often the geese are plucked, the higher the quality of the down. Unfortunately, there is still no mandatory labeling for down bedding & co.

What can I do as a consumer?

• Avoid down and switch to alternatives - quilted jackets and coats always state the exact filling material on the inside. In 2019, Stiftung Warentest tested several alternative materials in comforters. These included natural materials such as camel hair, merino wool and hemp as well as synthetic fibers such as polyester and lyocell. In the test, the natural fib ers were slightly more breathable than the synthetic fibers, but the synthetic fibers scored significantly higher in terms of durability and were lighter. In terms of price, the natural fibers were more expensive than the synthetic ones. However, these are questionable from an ecological point of view because they come from petroleum-based production. Some manufacturers now use recycled synthetic fibers.

• If you do use down, then only buy products that are certified with quality seals such as Responsible Down Standard (RDS), Global Traceable Down Standard (TDS) or Downpass (for bed linen). Both RDS and TDS were created in collaboration with outdoor clothing brands and trace the chain of life back to the parent animals. In recent years, manufacturers have become much more aware of this.

Images: ©️Evgeny Stavnikov, ©️green meadow