Ethical Down
Design & Philosophy
Why Ethical Production?
At Tundra we feel there are three important concerns regarding the production of our sleeping bags.
- Factory employees should have good working conditions judged by western standards.
- We should use the best possible design and materials available.
- The collection of the down should be as compassionate and humane as possible. Our Down supplier has the IDFL traceability certificate and also RDS, TDS and DownPass http://www.idfl.com/inspections/
Tundra draws on the skills of designers who have many years’ experience in producing practical, high quality equipment for outdoor enthusiasts and their contemporary approach is coupled with Poland’s expert long tradition of manufacturing down products. Add to this the fact that we use the lightest practical fabric available (37 grams per square metre) and the world’s best down (880+ FP Euro Standard) and you have an end product that easily surpasses competition in quality and performance
They have made Down products in Poland for many generations and we wanted to harness those traditional skills. We use modern computerised down filling machines for accuracy combined with traditional hand skills of the experienced technicians. This Polish Heritage means we make a better product with a lower impact on the environment.
We use only the very best down (FP880+ euro) which comes from farms where the geese and ducks swim on ponds and rivers living in their natural habitat.
These birds are kept for breeding and live to an old age. Wherever possible the down is taken from the nest of these birds. The down collected from the nests of these mature birds ensures high quality down and the compassionate treatment of the birds. Mature birds produce a higher fill power (FP880+) down than birds that are killed as part of the food chain. These poor birds only survive in the food chain for a matter of months, never maturing and their down has a low filler power (c.FP450). We use euro Fill Power measurements which generally is 10% lower than US standards. For example 1000 US = 900 Euro approximately for the same quality down.
Living in natural settings allows these mature birds to develop superior quality down clusters to protect them from the harsh and hostile winter weather. The down clusters from the breast of the bird takes three-four years to fully develop. Down from birds used in the food chain and killed at around four weeks is not fully developed and therefore, clearly, cannot achieve a high fill power.
Wherever possible the down is taken from the nests when the birds have naturally moulted, our down is carefully sorted and processed, washed and sterilised. Thanks to special procedures, the naturally occurring oil is also retained which helps to protect the down from moisture.