The North Face has committed to the goal of using 100 percent certified and responsibly sourced down across all product lines by Fall 2017. Leading up to this, The North Face will have 30 percent certified down by Fall 2015 and a goal of 60 percent certified down by Fall 2016.
In addition, all down used in the Summit Series, The North Face brand’s pinnacle collection of expedition-ready apparel and gear, and all European styles, will use 100 percent certified down in Fall 2015.
This down will be certified using the Responsible Down Standard (RDS), a third-party auditing and certification standard that can be applied to any water fowl-based supply chain and is open for use by any public entity. The North Face led the design and launch of the RDS earlier this year and gifted it to Textile Exchange, a global nonprofit dedicated to sustainability in the apparel and textile industry, to administer and evolve the standard as needed.
The RDS is designed to evaluate and trace the original source of down used in any down-based product, thereby creating a chain of custody from gosling to end product. The North Face has been working with down suppliers and Control Union Certifications, an accredited third-party certification body, to implement the RDS across primary sourcing regions in Europe and Asia and processing sites in the U.S.
