Down supplier, Allied Feather & Down gets set to introduce an environmentally-friendly laundry solution that will help you care for all your down products at home. There is a great deal of misunderstanding around how to care for down products — many people are afraid to wash them as they are not sure they are to supposed to let alone how. But, with proper care, your down products can – and should – last a lifetime.
Keeping your down gear lofty, comfortable, and warm for years requires relatively simple consideration and care. Harsh detergents can strip the down of the fat and oil necessary to keep it resilient causing it to become brittle, so it is critical to use a mild detergent. Allied has developed a down wash that targets the very specific needs in keeping your down products clean.
“With our knowledge of down backed by 30 years perfecting an environmentally responsible, industry leading washing and processing method, we thought we could do the same for finished goods and for the down consumer,” said Daniel Uretsky, President of ALLIED Feather & Down. “Down is both incredibly complex and can also be mishandled quite easily by using the wrong detergents. We knew that with our knowledge of the material and our relationships with our bluesign partners, we could bring something to the market that performed better for down products than currently existed.”
Allied is taking its palm-oil free detergent that is tried and tested on tons of down every day in multiple facilities around the world, and bottling a special version formulated for use in consumer- and commercial-grade washing machines. In conjunction with strict water recycling processes, Down Wash was developed to ensure it was environmentally friendly and free of any palm oil derivatives, with bluesign approved components. The final result is a product that will help maintain the fill power of the down and still work well to launder the textiles, all without harsh or harmful chemicals or derivatives.
On Allied’s TrackMyDown website, you can not only track where the down came from in the product you bought, but also get some tips on how to care for your down at home.
A down cluster is composed of the same type of proteins as human hair. When we wash our hair, we don’t want to use harsh soaps that will strip it, but we want to make sure it is clean. Cleaning down is the exact same principle. Down needs to be cleaned thoroughly, but still allow a very precise amount of fat and oils to remain.
To wash your down product, simply follow these easy steps:
- Start by running a rinse only cycle without detergent to wet product.
- Wash in cold or warm water and if possible, add an extra rinse following the wash without detergent.
- Dry thoroughly on low heat. This may take several cycles. Many times, the exterior shell will feel dry but the down inside is still slightly damp. It is critical to dry completely and it is unlikely you would damage the down when using low heat.
- During drying, add three clean tennis balls to aid in breaking up the down and maximizing loft.
That’s it!
Allied’s Down Wash will launch in specialty retail outlets globally and online in 400ml bottles, initially priced at $9.99.