Allied Feather & Down completed certification to become the industry’s largest supplier of down certified under NSF International’s Global Traceable Down Standard (TDS).
At the start of 2016, Allied estimated more than 70 percent of their down had been certified by independent third parties to ensure that all down had been collected from humanely treated birds. With this new certification, in one of Europe’s largest supply chains, Allied gets closer to the company’s ultimate goal of having 100 percent of its down certified by 2017 and immediately brings to market an unprecedented amount of TDS certified down, allowing their partner brands another alternative in responsibly sourced and traceable down.
Allied is also working to certify additional supply chains that will make Global Traceable Down a viable option for a larger number of brands and retailers across the outdoor, fashion, and bedding industries giving brands the choice of selecting the standard that works for them. The extremely comprehensive criteria in TDS provides the highest level of protection to animals from live plucking, confinement in tight spaces and force feeding. These are similar to the other major certification, the Responsible Down Standard (RDS), but TDS takes this one step further: NSF International, the organization that oversees the process (including the standard development, auditing and certification), also requires the mother animal to be treated under the same rules.
"The Global TDS is the strongest standard available to protect geese and ducks in the meat industry from cruel practices such as live-plucking and force-feeding,” said Senior Director for Social & Environmental Responsibility at Patagonia, Cara Chacon. “We applaud the commitment ALLIED Feather & Down has demonstrated to best in class animal welfare and down traceability practices."
