Down is yet another animal-based material that vegans must look out for. As with nearly all items taken from animals, its production entails substantial suffering.
Consisting of the fluffy superfine fibers that grow on the skin of geese and ducks, down is quite pricey, but it offers unmatched insulation properties. Even after decades of the textile industry’s materials science innovations, when measured by weight, down remains the warmest insulating fiber available. Winter jackets, comforters, pillows, and sleeping bags may all contain down.
Down and Animal Cruelty
Much of the world’s down is plucked from living, fully conscious birds. The United States and the European Union have banned live-plucking. Unfortunately, China produces about 80 percent of the world’s down, and has not outlawed live-plucking. The nation has enacted few laws protecting farmed animals.
In 2016, PETA released video footage documenting appalling cruelties associated with the production of down. The footage shows workers in China ripping feathers from live, struggling birds.
Vegan Alternatives to Down
There are better ways to keep warm in the winter than by purchasing down.
Since water saturation ruins down garments and bedding, dry cleaning is the only way to launder these items. By contrast, exposure to water doesn’t harm synthetics, and that’s just the start of their advantages. Garments based on synthetics are typically machine washable, and won’t be destroyed if you get caught in a downpour. And, unlike down garments, they’re not absurdly puffy. Finally, most premium synthetics are far cheaper than down.
Since the market for premium outerwear is enormous, clothing companies are constantly jockeying to leapfrog one another by developing new replacements for down. One of the most technologically advanced synthetics is Thinsulate®, a durable and waterproof textile designed for cold weather and made by materials science giant 3M. The company doesn’t itself make apparel, but instead sells Thinsulate to various clothing companies. Look for it on the labels of better winter outerwear. 3M makes a number of varieties of Thinsulate, both for clothing and building materials. Their featherless variety offers an excellent vegan alternative to down, and the company markets it as “a kinder alternative to feathers.”
You can also buy warm and fluffy down-like pillows made from spun recycled plastic bottles.
Don’t berate yourself over these past purchases of down-filled products, since you likely had no idea about the cruelty behind their production. Instead, you can make an important difference by committing to never again purchase these sorts of items.
