WARM, snuggly and insulating, feathers and down make wonderful fillings for duvets, but with consumers becoming more ethically-minded with regards to how they are sourced, manufacturers and retailers are having to up their game.
Adhering to the Responsible Down Standard or achieving Downpass certification are two ways that retailers can prove that their products have been sourced without causing distress to ducks and geese.
Practically, this means that the feathers come from birds that have been reared for the meat industry, collected after they have been killed, rather than through so-called ‘live plucking’, the cruel practice of pulling the feathers from the birds while they are still alive.
Our round-up contains only ethical suppliers but if you are vegan or would rather avoid the issue altogether, there are plenty of other duvet fillings of non-animal origin including microfibre, hollowfibre and even bamboo.
When it comes to duvets, it’s worth remembering that tog ratings measure warmth rather than weight, and the higher the tog rating, the warmer the duvet. Duvets with higher percentages of down tend to be warmer while those with more feathers tend to have more bulk, or ‘loft’.
All prices featured are for a standard double duvet to aid comparison.
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