Winter 2019 - Inside Outdoor Magazine

Inside Outdoor | WINTER 2019 16 Ingredients According to executives at Allied Feather & Down, current research has shown a great deal of misunder- standing around down insulation and, especially, how to care for the down product. While 70 percent of respon- dents to a recent survey own at least one down product, more than half of them thought the items should not be washed. A third of respondents said they don’t wash their down products because they don’t know how; and another 20 percent believed they don’t have the proper machine or products to do so. What’s more, “down care” ranked twice as high as “animal welfare” among the reasons people may choose not to purchase a down insu- lated product. Lastly, 62 percent of respondents said they would consid- er adding a down-specific detergent at time of purchase if it were readily available. These are a few of the reasons why Allied introduced Down Wash, a new high-performance, en- vironmentally-friendly home laundry solution for down products. The move makes Allied Feather & Down the first non-chemical company in the outdoor industry to launch a home laundry solution for down. And Allied took the same eco-conscious chemical management and sourc- ing practices that it uses every day to wash millions of pounds of down to formulate its laundry detergent for home use. Allied took the same palm- oil free detergent that is tried and test- ed on tons of down every day in mul- tiple facilities around the world and bottled a special version formulated for use in consumer- and commercial- grade washing machines. “Down is both incredibly complex and can also be mishandled quite easily by using the wrong detergents,” said Daniel Uretsky, president of Alliend Feather & Down. “We knew that with our knowledge of the mate- rial and our relationships with our bluesign partners, we could bring something to the market that performed better for down prod- ucts than currently existed.” Most laundry de- tergents use palm oil as a necessary surfactant under one of their thousands of derivative’s names, and many are incred- ibly harsh and will destroy down, said Allied. Down Wash is free of palm oil and has received the International Palm Oil Free Certification Trade- mark, making Allied only the fourth U.S. company to achieve this level of certification and sustainability. Down Wash comes as part of a larger Alliend educational campaign. This consumer-focused outreach will include tours of partner brands’ stores and key specialty retailers. Even more care information is provided on each lot page on the newly relaunched TrackMyDown.com – the leading source for down edu- cation and traceability in the world, adding a consumer facing tool alongside the now widely accepted Responsible Down Standard that ALLIED unveiled with The North Face in 2014. ALLIED is also provid- ing brands and consumers with the most up-to-date methodology for cleaning down products and aftercare. Down Wash will launch in specialty retail outlets globally and online in 400ml bottles, initially priced at $9.99. ALLIED Unveils Down Wash Last year, Hawaii became the first state to ban the sale and distribution of sunscreens containing the chemicals oxybenzone and octinoxate. Now, a similar measure may follow in South Florida. The Key West City Com- mission has unanimously voted to ban the sale of sun- screens containing the two chemicals. This measure was passed in response to a grow- ing body of scientific evidence suggesting that the chemicals are harmful to local coral reefs. As of right now the measure, which passed 7-0, is not yet a local law. A second vote is scheduled for Feb. 5. The proposal has the support of many local community members who are concerned about water quality and marine life. The region has been dealing with numerous issues related to pollution during the last few months, most notably red tide which left a wake of dead sea life along the Florida coastline. According to city commis- sioner Jimmy Weekly, locals still will be able to obtain a prescrip- tion from a doctor to obtain sun- screens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate if the measure becomes law. Consumers will otherwise be forced to seek alternative options. For manufacturers and retailers, the announce- ment is a clear sign that public opinion is shifting in favor of eco-friendly sunscreen. All Good sunscreens have always been reef friendly Key West Bans Harmful Sunscreens