Many down products use feathers from force fed birds who are live plucked. It is both inhumane and unethical. A new Responsible Down Standard helps consumers make more ethical choices. Mammut is one of the brands adopting the new standard alongside North Face, Kathmandu and Black Diamond as per this Mammut press release distributed this week.
Down is an irreplaceable insulation material for top performance in functional outdoor clothing. To take positive action to combat unethical down production, the Swiss mountain sports equipment manufacturer Mammut is implementing the newly created Responsible Down Standard (RDS), as one of the first brands to take this step.
70 percent of the down used in the company’s winter 2015/2016 clothing collection was certified and the objective now is to switch entirely to certified supplies for all down products as early as summer 2016.
Alpinists and other outdoor sports enthusiasts are often exposed to harsh climatic conditions. They need to be able to rely on their clothing implicitly at all times and in every situation, to avoid chilling and the associated health risks. As a mountain sports equipment manufacturer with a history spanning over 150 years, Mammut applies its “Absolute Alpine” standard to all products to address these challenges.
The insulation material of choice for top performance is down. In terms of weight, compressibility and insulation value, this important natural material remains unrivaled by any synthetic alternative.
Unfortunately, some down production operations use unethical and inhumane practices, such as force-feeding and live plucking. A situation that is intolerable in the outdoor sports world, with its close ties to nature, for consumers and for us as a company.
From the very start, Mammut has therefore placed great emphasis on ensuring the use of down from ethical and responsible operations, and applies the same best practice principle to its down procurement as to all other raw material purchases. This principle is always oriented toward the most sustainable social and environmental approach based on the latest findings.
Thanks to the efforts of the company’s Supply Chain team and good relationships with suppliers, in the majority of cases to date, the down used in Mammut products could be traced all the way back to the abattoir – however, due to the lack of an appropriate standard, there was insufficiently clear certification for the steps prior to this. The situation was unsatisfactory for us, our customers and critical stakeholders.
Following intensive preparation and in close cooperation with suppliers, with effect from the 2015/2016 winter collection, Mammut will become one of the first brands to use down certified according to the new Responsible Down Standard (RDS/www.responsibledown.org) in its apparel line. The RDS is a comprehensive global, third-party-certified animal welfare and traceability standard for down and feathers.
The standard ensures the humane husbandry and treatment of geese and ducks, improves animal welfare and provides a global guarantee throughout the entire down industry of traceability all the way back to the chicks. Two years ago, complex supply chains and a lack of transparency made this latter aspect in particular appear practically impossible, or at least a prospect for the distant future.
The introduction of the RDS, the result of cooperation between industry and NGOs, can therefore be regarded as a breakthrough and an important step toward ethical and completely transparent down supply chains. As a proponent of such cross-industry solutions, Mammut is joining forces with nearly a dozen other brands in a pioneering role for the RDS. The animal protection organization 4 Pfoten (Four Paws), itself a member of the RDS international working group, has already highlighted Mammut as a company that is acting successfully in this area.
The standard gives Mammut the reassurance that the company’s ideals are being upheld in its own down supply chain and gives its customers the certainty of knowing that it is making every possible effort to ensure the responsible procurement of the down used in Mammut products.
According to current calculations, at least 70% of the down used in the Mammut 2015/2016 winter collection will be RDS-certified. The company is aiming to switch entirely to RDS- certified down for its 2016 summer collection (apparel and sleeping bags).
The company’s proactive attitude to its role as one of the leading mountain sport equipment manufacturers and the associated responsibility has already been demonstrated by Mammut’s very early membership of the Fair Wear Foundation (http://www.fairwear.org). Once again, Mammut received the “Leader” rating for 2014 in recognition of its exemplary commitment to fair working conditions in global supply chains, and for the implementation of effective internal processes and management systems for supplier monitoring and development.
