Inside Outdoor Spring 2020 Issue

Inside Outdoor | SPRING 2020 24 W hen questions emerged a few years back regarding the possible unethical treatment of animals in the down supply chain, down suppli- ers and outdoor brands such as Pata- gonia and The North Face joined forc- es to alleviate consumers concerns. Rather quickly, systems such as the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) and Responsible Down Standard (RDS) were created and implemented to pro- vide customers with some confidence that the down in a sleeping bag or outerwear came from birds that were never forced-fed or live-plucked. It was a noble first step. But as Allied Feather and Down creative director Matthew Betcher explained, the mere existence of these voluntary global standards achieves little in the way of transparency and traceability for the sustainably minded retail buyer and end user. “A little RDS sticker on a product re- ally doesn’t say anything about the quali- ty or environmental or sustainable nature of the down inside that jacket,” admitted Betcher. “All it says is that the product was sourced from a certified farm. That’s important, but it’s only half – if not less than half – of what makes premium down premium. Processing is what really makes down a strong, reliable, and envi- ronmentally positive insulation.” At issue is the dirty reality of down substitution. Once a batch of down leaves an RDS-certified farm, for ex- ample, it’s possible for that down to get mixed in with other non-compliant batches either nefariously to increase margins or accidentally through unorga- nized processes. Much the same is true for down that is processed sustainably. “It doesn’t take a lot to get traced back to farms that are engaged in bad animal welfare practices,” Betch- er continued. There are also many types of processors that are commonly used to treat down that can be bad for the planet and for down products. They ultimately harm consumers, too, who often wind up overpaying for manipu- lated and ineffective materials. Making matters worse, a brand that By Gerald Baldino Drilling Down Allied Feather & Down has ushered in a new era of traceability with its in-store iMirror Ingredients