California Apparel News

By 2017, The North Face plans to have all its down 100 percent certified and responsibly sourced using the Responsible Down Standard, a third-party standard.

The outdoor technical apparel maker plans to have 30 percent of its down certified by fall 2015 and 60 percent of its down certified by fall 2016. By next year, the company’s Summit Series of expedition-ready apparel and all of its European styles will be 100 percent certified.

The Responsible Down Standard, or RDS, evaluates and traces the original source of down, “creating a chain of custody from gosling to end product.” The North Face designed and launched the standard before turning it over to the Textile Exchange, the apparel and textile sustainability nonprofit organization, which will maintain and update the standard with feedback from the industry.

The North Face has been working with down suppliers and the third-party certification body Control Union Certifications to implement the RDS in primary sourcing regions in Europe and Asia, as well as its processing sites in the U.S.

According to The North Face, the first stop in the global down supply chain is the food industry. Down is then cleaned multiple times and sorted for quality. The RDS forbids practices such as force-feeding and live plucking and provides guidelines for food and water quality, housing, and animal health and hygiene.

“Influencing the down supply chain to change its practices to ensure the ethical treatment of animals and traceability is a significant challenge. We are working with suppliers many levels past our direct down suppliers, all the way back to the farms of the food industry to enable more responsibly sourced down,” said Adam Mott, The North Face’s director of sustainability. “Our ultimate goal is to change the industry as a whole, not just our own supply chain. To do that, we need a collective effort from our competitors in the apparel industry as well as other sectors that use a significant volume of down and feathers like the bedding and furniture industries. We want the practices promoted by the RDS to become the new norm.”

The North Face is a division of Greensboro, N.C.–based VF Corp.