RDS A to Z for Working-level Staff
2017-04-17
Before, people used to be sensitive to where their food came from. Now, they also pay attention to the material and production process of the cloth that they wear. With the increasing number of articles on ‘vegan fashion’ and ‘eco-friendly fashion’ and growing customer inquiries about eco-friendly materials, we are now aware that the fashion industry are also interested in sustainability, eco-friendliness, and ethics.
Down is a by-product of the food industry and normally does not involve abuse of animals. To obtain more down, however, some producers hand pluck the feather from the breast of living geese, resulting in reports of animal abuse. As more and more people voiced concerns about the abuse of animals during waterfowl breeding, Responsible Down Standard (hereinafter referred to as “RDS”) was developed to resolve such problems.
In 2015, PRAUDEN received certification for RDS for the first time in Korea. Today, we would like to share about RDS and its procedure with brands considering RDS certification and their working-level staff.
Procedures for RDS certification
The procedures for RDS certification are as below.
① Application (Submission of an application form and a production plan)
② Payment of certification fees
③ On-site audit
④ Result notification and certificate issuance
⑤ Use of RDS logo
⑥ Follow-up management
Audits are conducted by Control Union which is an independent network of inspection operations. Control Union is based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with 100 branches in 65 countries. Contact the nearest local branch for inquiries on certification. Issuance of the certificate takes 40 to 60 days from the date of on-site audit and the certification shall be renewed on an annual basis. The RDS allows for a company with factories located in different geographical regions to be audited as subordinate units.
<Down distribution stage – A business can use the RDS logo for its finished products after completing the entire certification procedure.>
To use the RDS logo for finished products, a business shall be certified for its entire production and distribution processes from waterfowl breeding to finished products with down filling. Which means a business must be certified for ① Farm, ② Collector, ③ Down producer/supplier, ④ Manufacturer, and ⑤ Brand and final retailer.
All of PRAUDEN’s RDS-certified products come with a RDS-certified down hang-tag containing the certificate number. PRAUDEN RDS hang-tags contain a QR code for details on RDS. Consumers can easily understand RDS by scanning the QR code and purchase products without worrying about animal abuse. Visit here for further details.
RDS compliance criteria by module
RDS compliance criteria by module are as below.
<*Separate storage of RDS-certified raw materials>
<*Label attached to RDS-certified products>
Through such close management process, we guarantee that all compliance criteria are met during all product production procedures as well as at the time of certification issuance.
Issuance and confirmation of TC (Transaction Certification)
A Transaction Certificate (hereinafter referred to as a “TC”) is a document that verifies that the goods have been made with RDS-certified down only. The purpose of TCs is to prevent RDS-certified down from being mixed with non-certified down. A business should be issued TCs for trading RDS-certified down (including raw materials). TCs should be issued whenever RDS-certified down is transferred from a farm, through a primary collector and a down producer, to a manufacturer. The final TC is interlocked with previously issued TCs and businesses can track when and where the down was traded.
Details for TC issuance are as below.
In recent years, there have been some instances where businesses impersonate a RDS-certified company or forge TCs. If a forged TC is found, legal action for compensation, etc. may be taken against the company. In addition, a brand that produces finished products using forged TCs is prohibited from using RDS hang-tags and should remove hang-tags immediately from already delivered products.
To prevent such confusion and the deterioration of brand image, businesses need to verify the authenticity of TCs. Generally, you can verify the authenticity of TCs by checking whether the hologram on the top of a TC is damaged. For more accurate confirmation, contact the Control Union responsible for RDS audits and TC issuance and ask if the TC numbers are authentic. In the first half of 2017, the Control Union will open the website for TC verification.
By PRAUDEN Sourcing Part Go Min-jeong/Kim Jeong-mi
