GET DOWN WITH THE FA C T S
Down from five geese is needed to make your average sleeping bag
INTERVIEW WITH A VEGAN
I wheeled in Frank Thompson, a vegan cyclist-mountaineer from Bristol, to ask some awkward questions.
Young ducklings at a hatchery in China. Down supply chain audit, 2016.
THE NORTH FACE’S RESPONSIBLE DOWN STANDARD Back in 2012, Patagonia and The North Face took the most rap from welfare charities and the press (“Hit the biggies with the most to lose,” commented Richard Talbot from Mountain Equipment). There are a scattering of individual down traceability projects, but these two companies essentially birthed the global standards that other brands would (or will) go on to abide by. However, they took quite different approaches. After getting advice from Mountain Equipment and welfare charity Four
Paws, The North Face set up something similar to Down Codex, which they called the Responsible Down Standard (RDS). Like Mountain Equipment, they audit all slaughter houses and bigger farms. When it comes to all the smaller farms, representative sampling comes into play: checking a percentage of suppliers in a geographical area with similar farming practices. Nina Jamal from Four Paws explained to me, “In addition to this, data is continuously collected and controlled, and during audits, down collectors are interviewed to verify findings and data.” The North Face then handed RDS over to Textile Exchange, a global not-for- profit organisation focused on improving standards in the textile industry. It swiftly went industry-wide: over 70 brands now only use RDS-certified down, including Berghaus, Rab and many other popular outdoor brands. See http://
responsibledown.org/find-responsible-down-standard/ for the full list. “The real plus of RDS,” says Richard Talbot “Is that it has provided an easy-to-use standard for all companies.” However, he points out a downside, too: RDS allows companies to claim the moral high ground whilst having done very little either to understand the issues or question their role in a wider debate.
PATAGONIA’S GLOBAL TRACEABLE DOWN STANDARD
Patagonia took a different approach: instead of trying to improve bird welfare on thousands of tiny farms, they prioritised 100% certified and traceable down. The brand now only use down from 300 industrial farms, with between several hundred to several thousand birds, which allows them to audit them all. The American company now only source down from farms in the US and Poland, too. These “meet our rigorous animal welfare standards while also meeting our tough quality requirements,” Wendy Savage, Senior Manager of Patagonia’s Supply Chain Social Responsibility and Traceability team told me. Patagonia have now handed their Traceable Down Standard over to not-for-profit public health organisation NSF International for global management, and are currently in discussion with other companies that may want to use it.
Live plucking of a White Goose in Hungary 2010.
Frank Thompson: Down farms are notified before they are audited. Can they clean their act up for one day?
Richard Talbot, Director of Product, Mountain Equipment: We are fully committed to carrying out audits without notice, but at present have conducted our audits in conjunction with the prior approval of our supply chains. That said, all must have signed up to be willing to accept unannounced visits in order to work with us.
Ashley Gill, Integrity Specialist at RDS: “The first year, our audits are announced. In following years, at least half of all farms audits must be semi-announced (72 hours’ notice or announcing a two-month window, during which the auditor may arrive at any time). Force- feeding requires large equipment that could not be removed quickly. The evidence of live- plucking birds also lasts at least six weeks.” Corley Kenna, PR Director at Patagonia: “The complexity of the down supply chain does not allow for a one-day clean-up of practices to pass audits.”
SUMMIT#85 | SPRING 2017 | 45
PHOTO: MOUNTAIN EQUIPMENT.
PHOTO: MOUNTAIN EQUIPMENT.
PHOTO: VIER PFOTEN INTERNATIONAL.
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