Down, a by-product of the food industry, is collected after ducks and geese are slaughtered. In order to prevent unethical behaviors during the harvesting and collection of down & feather from waterfowl, PRAUDEN is certified by independent organizations. Through the Raw Material Purchasing Vertical System, we manage every single farm and do our best to prevent animal abuse such as live-plucking and force-feeding.

Generally, goose down cluster is larger and has better thermal insulation and fill power than duck down. If you need a high level of thermal insulation or prefer a lightweight product for outdoor activities, we recommend goose down which has better thermal insulation at the same weight. Duck down is generally sold at a lower price than goose down. We recommend duck down for daily activities.

The country of origin refers to a region where waterfowl are raised and down is collected. The country of manufacture refers to the country where the final product is produced. Down quality including the size depend on breeds of waterfowl, feeding environment, and the number of days of breeding. If the number of days of breeding is the same, down collected from geese raised in cold regions such as Siberia and Hungary has good quality. It is difficult to identify the countries of origin of down. By exploiting this fact, some companies change the countries of origin to Europe or make the country of manufacture look like the place of origin. As the quality of down products depends on the place of origin of down, it is important to check the place of origin, instead of the country of manufacture. Make sure if down & feather are supplied by a reliable down processing company before purchasing.

Down & feather have many different colors including white, gray, and brown, depending on breeds of waterfowl. Although quality is not affected by colors, dark down & feather that fill brightly-colored cloth may be visible through clothing. Please be aware when purchasing brightly-colored products.

Fill power is a measure of resilience (power to withstand pressure) of down. The higher the fill power, the more air an ounce of the down can trap, and thus the higher thermal insulation and more insulating ability the down has. Generally, over 600 FP (fill power) is considered quality down, and over 800 FP premium down. If two different products have the same amount of down, the one with higher fill power has better thermal insulation. If they have different amounts of down, it cannot be said that one with higher fill power has better thermal insulation. Check the fill power and amounts of down in consideration of the purpose of use.

According to Korean standards, 100% down cannot be labeled. In Korea, it is considered that 100% pure down cluster is impossible to be produced because fiber separated from down and fine powder broken off from feathers during collection, production, or distribution are naturally mixed with down. PRAUDEN follows the labeling standards of down products according to country.

All products filled with down & feather have a label showing the ratio between down to feathers according to each country’s labeling standard. As the percentage of down increases, the product is softer has better thermal insulation and higher pricing. However, the labeling standards are different from country to country. In some countries, the percentage of down is marked higher than the actual amount of down clusters. The actual down to feather ratios should be marked on products in Korea, U.S., and Japan whereas the down to feather ratios marked on products are different from the actual amount of down clusters in Europe and Canada. In case of Europe, a product containing 90.48% down cluster can be labeled as 100% down. Even though products are produced abroad, they should be re-labeled after being imported to Korea according to Korean labeling standards. Therefore, consumers should pay close attention to product labels. Click here to see the labeling standards of down products by country.

Down products are convenient to carry since they are light and resilient. You can put a down product into a compact bag for carrying. Upon usage, take it out of the bag tap it. The compressed down product will then swell up and be restored to its original state. If the clothing becomes damaged, down may come out of the damaged areas. Be careful not to expose down products to sharp objects or to fires. For long-term storage, do not put a down product in a compact bag but keep it in a well-ventilated area. Store the down product with a desiccating agent to protect it from humidity.

Since the life of the down product decreases with the number of washes, we recommend that you remove small stains using a neutral detergent and a soft brush. All products are made of different fabrics and processing techniques. When doing laundry, be sure to check the care label attached to the product. Generally, wash a down product with a neutral detergent and lukewarm water for a short period of time and rinse thoroughly several times. After dehydrating the product, dry it completely. After the product has completely dried, tap it to even out the distribution of down. Dry cleaning may decrease the resilience of down and lower the oil and fat content. Avoid dry cleaning as much as possible.

Many hotels prefer PRAUDEN’s down in order to ensure comfortable bedding. A PRAUDEN bedding label is attached to bedclothes filled with PRAUDEN down. In this case, down is supplied by PRAUDEN but its fabrics and manufacturers vary. Contact the customer service center of the hotel for details. If you want to purchase general products filled with PRAUDEN down, please make sure that a PRAUDEN label is attached.

A PRAUDEN hang-tag and label are attached to a product containing PRAUDEN down. It is important to note that hang-tag and labels of similar designs and configurations, or brand names similar to PRAUDEN, may be mistaken for PRAUDEN's products. See the PRAUDEN hang-tag and label below.

PRAUDEN hang-tag and label

"Class" is the down product labeling standard of Europe (EU). Products are classified into Class I (5% or below), Class II (5-15%), and Class III (15% or above) based on the percentage of feathers of landfowl, damaged or recycled down & feather, and residues contained in the product. What must be noted is that all products manufactured according to Korean labeling standards (KS) has a ratio of 5% or below. Thus, all down products that meet Korean labeling standards can be considered equivalent to “New” and “Class I” of European labeling standards.

Pure Goose is one of the European labeling standards (EN) for down & feather products. According to European Norm for down & feather products, products are divided into six grades from Pure Goose to Pure Duck depending on goose down to duck down ratios. Pure Goose means that a product has 90% or more goose down and 10% or less duck down (regardless of down to feathers ratio, and quality). Please refer to the table below for further information.

Quality of down products that feature the same specifications greatly varies in final garments products by sewing technology and treatment practice. This is why PRAUDEN provides all vendors with ‘PRAUDEN Down Operation Manual’ to help retain the quality of insulations into final garments. Click here to download.