Warmth without remorse: Why does it matter what your down jacket is stuffed with?

Warmth without remorse: Why does it matter what your down jacket is stuffed with?

Down jackets have been a staple for many outdoor enthusiasts for decades. Their ability to keep warm even in really harsh winters, despite rapid technological development, has so far found no rival and the typical puffy look of down jackets with individual chambers has become iconic in the world.

However, many down jackets also carry with them an ugly secret related to the practices by which the down from geese or ducks is obtained.

So in this article, we'll discuss why it's important to know where the down in your new jacket comes from, why Responsible Down Standard certification is important, and why we rely on Downtek as our partner for all things down-related.

The dark side of down: Practices that cause suffering


A widely known cruel practice is so-called "force feeding". In this practice, geese and ducks are aggressively fattened up, reaching disproportionate sizes, and their unnaturally large livers are used as a luxury food known as foie gras. Awareness of this practice is quite widespread even among the general public and the supply of foie gras in restaurants around the world is receding.

A lesser-known practice, already directly related to outdoor clothing and equipment, is 'live plucking' - plucking feathers from geese and ducks alive. This process causes severe pain and stress to the birds, and they are also treated very carelessly in the process by default, leading to further pain, stress and injury.

As a result of these injuries, the risk of disease transmission is then greatly increased, a risk compounded by the fact that individual bird often live in very cramped and unhygienic conditions, crammed together.

Although many organisations are fighting against these practices, it is a long struggle and requires a lot of intensive and sustained effort.

Responsible Down Standard

Although these practices are very difficult to stop completely on a global level, many processors, manufacturers and brands turn a blind eye to these problems and deliberately ignore any suppliers that even hint at such practices. Currently, the most reliable guarantee that this is the case is the internationally recognised Responsible Down Standard certification.

The Responsible Down Standard is the global standard for the traceability, sourcing and processing of down used in the outdoor industry. It guarantees that down used in products comes from geese and ducks that have been treated humanely and that their living conditions meet highly defined standards.

In practice, this means that all down with this certificate comes from geese and ducks that have been raised in good conditions, have not suffered during their lives, have been treated responsibly and their feathers have been obtained only as a by-product of meat processing.

You can wear and enjoy your down jacket, if it is stuffed with down with this certificate, without any regrets.

ZAJO and Downtek


We too are committed to ensuring that every single product is produced as responsibly and sustainably as possible within our means. That's why we work with a supplier, Downtek, who only uses RDS-certified down in the production of our products and, in addition, uses many other eco-friendly practices in their down processing and conditioning procedures.

Every single jacket in our range that is filled with down, whether goose down or duck down, therefore contains only certified down. So not a single feather suffers for that warmth that protects you from the cold.

Conclusion

We care about people feeling good, comfortable and safe in our products. But part of that good feeling has to be much more than whether the jacket is warm enough. That's why we're proud that our down jackets carry no bloody secrets with them and can be worn with absolutely no qualms. And that will never change.


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