Sonja Vlaar
CONTRIBUTION IN ORIGINAL LANGUAGE
Down and feathers are natural products - but are often made by injured animals. Re: Get down found an alternative that is also sustainable. “Our goal is to find recycling solutions for part of the massive textile waste. We focus on voluminous down and down mail consumer goods and try to get the best out of every material, ”said Eric Firmann, co-founder of Re: Down.
Down and feathers become new fillers
Down and feathers, mainly derived from bedding, are collected to be used as filling material for clothing, sleeping bags or bedding. “We only offer down and feathers from post-consumer products without new animal input. Our raw material comes from textile waste containers and not from slaughterhouses. Make the most of existing resources instead of using new ones! “Down and feathers are then sterilized at high temperatures and only soap is used for washing. The water-resistant finish uses an FC-free formula.
97% of the material collected can already be recycled. However, the goal of Re: Down is that there is no waste. In addition to down and feathers, the other collected materials are also processed. Fabric shells are cut into small pieces and end in a non-woven insulation. Broken feathers and down fibers are raised to an organic fertilizer.
Examples of brands available on the UK market that use Re: Down are Arket from H&M group or Everlanethat both use it for outerwear like down jackets. UK outdoor brand Mountain equipment has been a partner for years filling jackets, pants, sleeping bags and more with recycled down and feathers. Other international outdoor brands are for example Mammoth, Bergans or Patagonia.
Picture: Pixabay
