All About Down > Features
All About Down > Features
Down is the warmest material among natural materials. According to historical records, humans have begun to use duck down and goose down as filling for winter clothing from the 1600s. Down has been loved by humans because of its lightness, excellent thermal insulation, and water repellency for the past 400 years. See the following for the features of down.
Down is an eco-friendly material produced as a by-product of the food industry without using other raw materials.
Compared to polyester-based filling, down generates a much smaller amount of waste and requires less energy for production and disposal.
To generate the same level of thermal insulation, only 0.8kg of goose down is used whereas 3kg of cotton, 1.5kg of wool, and 1.3kg of polyester are required.
Down of waterfowl that should keep their body heat warm in water or in extremely cold weather is the lightest and warmest natural filling material.
Down absorbs and emits heat and moisture by expanding or shrinking depending on the temperature and humidity.
Down has outstanding air permeability which helps the body to maintain a constant temperature and provides a pleasant environment regardless of the exterior environment.
Down clusters which are not tangled but resilient to each other are easily recovered to their original state. Thanks to this feature, down softly covers the human body with being transformed to fit the body curves.
That is why down is widely used for winter clothing for outdoor activities and bedding.
Bulkiness, meaning down’s swelling ability, is generally expressed as fill power.
The higher bulkiness is, the more air down can trap, and thus the higher thermal insulation and lighter it is.
