PERFORMANCE SUSTAINABILITY SOURCING INNOVATION

The Info Room

PRODUCTS + INNOVATIONS

Introducing ExpeDRY™

ExpeDRY is ALLIED’s new innovative and disruptive ultra dry down featuring FUZE® technology for a chemical free alternative to hydrophobic-treated down.

DOWN 101

The Supply Chain

Down is a by-product of the food industry, and as such, most down comes from those countries that eat the most duck and geese. This supply chain is one that has been around for hundreds of years and still remains very similar to the way duck and geese were raised for generations.

About Allied

In 1987, a small family company was formed with the vision to provide the highest quality, innovative and responsibly sourced down to outdoor and apparel brands. To this day we’re still a family-run operation, and what started in a 12,000 square foot warehouse, has grown to over 1 million square feet with facilities in the US, China, Vietnam and opening soon in Europe.

From the beginning, ALLIED sought a new way of doing things. Thirty years ago, the down supply chain was a network of brokers with very little connection to the source. This practice still exists in many supply chains today. When Steve Uretsky founded ALLIED, he knew there was a better way to source and process what was then a generic ingredient. Strong relationships were formed directly with hatcheries and farms to ensure consistency with quality, price, and traceability. Washing processes were rethought leading to a method that would become more sustainable while setting new benchmarks for cleanliness. 

Working directly with the source has allowed ALLIED to develop industry-wide standards and leading traceability programs and tools, while also offering our partners an unparalleled level of support while working directly with animal welfare organizations. We are proud to have helped develop the Responsible Down Standard which has become one of the largest animal welfare standards in the entire textile industry. Our unique sustainable processing methods also allow us to recycle over 65 million gallons of water annually and led to ALLIED becoming the first down supplier to achieve the prestigious bluesign® system partner status in 2010. All down from ALLIED is now a bluesign® approved ingredient– one of the few non-textile based ingredients to have that status.

To this day we are still a family-run operation, and our goal has always been to make our customers and partners feel part of our family. Working with brands of every size, our sourcing practices, quality, innovations and consumer education tools such as TrackMyDown.com® offer every partner the tools and content to bring added value to every product using ALLIED down.

ALLIED will always continue to look forward, and look how down is purchased, used and marketed to new consumers. Through the three pillars of our brand – Quality, Innovation and Sustainability – ALLIED has and will continue to set the standard for quality insulations found inside the finest luxury and most technical outdoor brands worldwide.

Steve Uretsky

Steve founded ALLIED in 1987 after many years in the down industry. At a young age, eschewing an education in medicine, Steve chose to go to work for a feather and down company, where he learned about the finer qualities of down and the immensely complicated supply chain. At the time, the down industry was a maze of middlemen and collectors. When it was time to venture out on his own, he knew there was a better way to source – and with that, ALLIED was born. Steve remains a critical part of ALLIED, and those early ideas about dealing directly with the sources have helped build ALLIED as the premier supplier of responsibly sourced down worldwide. To this day, ALLIED also uses a unique processing method based on the environmentally sound plan Steve implemented 30 years ago – even then ALLIED was ahead of the industry on “green” issues – which helps the brand also remain the leader in sustainability.

“I’m so incredibly proud that my daughter and two sons have followed me in this endeavor and continue to champion ALLIED’s commitments to social and environmental responsibility. They’re a big part of the reason these issues were so important to me even way back then, and I know they’ll continue to do what’s best for future generations as well.”

Daniel Uretsky

After earning his law degree from Georgetown, and working four years as a litigator, Daniel returned to join the family business in 2010 as General Counsel. In his seven years at ALLIED, Daniel’s business-savvy and socially conscious leadership has helped ALLIED expand its already prestigious partner base, which now reads as a veritable who’s who in the outdoor and home fashion industries. He has piloted a wide range of sustainability efforts and advocated for animal welfare initiatives in house and across the industry – even spearheading what have become the industry’s largest animal welfare standards like the RDS and TDS, etc. He also sits on many working-group boards to ensure the entire industry is engaged in best socially responsible practices even if it means going against the grain.

“What I’m most proud of since coming back to the family business is that we’ve continued driving outstanding market growth simultaneously with these social imperatives. We’ve proven that major business can be highly successful not only while incorporating social responsibility, but because of it.”

Jon Uretsky

As with Daniel, Jonathan began his career outside the family business, working as an analyst at a Global Hedge Fund after receiving a Master’s Degree in Accounting. But he too soon returned, and since joining ALLIED four years ago, Jonathan has focused on operations and production throughout their multifaceted platform. He has been instrumental in overseeing ALLIED’s vast certification efforts, and works closely with farms, hatcheries and collectors throughout the global supply chain, ensuring ALLIED is always at the source of the supply. His work has led the brand to continue seeking and uncovering new supply chains offering higher quality, warmer, responsibly sourced down than was thought possible even just the season prior. He’s even active on social media so colleagues can to follow and learn from him as he documents his supply chain visits.

“Like all of us in the Uretsky family, I’m most of proud of our commitment to the environment and sustainability – especially that our efforts and successes have also helped inspire continuous advancements in animal welfare throughout the industry. But what’s most exciting for me right now are our outstanding recycled down product, and in the near future…waterless down production!”

ALLIED offers our partners global production options and unequaled diversity through ownership and operation of production facilities on three continents. Our global footprint not only allows us to be more diversified in times of crisis, but allows us to also reduce our overall environmental impact by saving on shipping and transportation. 

In addition to the down production capabilities in Anhui (China), Hangzhou (China), Hanoi (Vietnam), Kamyk (Czech Republic), Montreal (Canada) and our US headquarters just east of downtown Los Angeles, we also have sourcing offices throughout China and Europe as well as supply chain partners in Hungary and sales offices in Seoul, Korea and Tokyo, Japan. 

ALLIED also maintains full service bedding manufacturing facilities in Los Angeles, North Carolina, Montreal and Hangzhou through ALLIED Home.  

  • Corporate Headquarters
  • Down Processing
  • Down Recycling
  • Corporate Headquarters
  • Global Research and Development
  • Complete Testing facility
  • Bedding Production
  • Bedding Production
  • Down Processing
  • Bedding Production
  • Down Processing
  • Bedding Production
  • Down Recycling
  • Bedding Production
  • Down Processing
  • Bedding Production
  • Down Processing
  • Down Recycling
  • Down Processing
  • Bedding Production
  • Cut and Sew
  • Sales and marketing office for Korea domestic market
  • Sales and marketing office for Japanese brands

ALLIED is proud to have 50% female ownership and provides a diverse and inclusive work environment worldwide. We stand against racism in any form and work with local communities where our factories are located to provide work programs where we can, free bedding to shelters and when Covid took hold, free reusable masks to local fire departments and the homeless community. 

ALLIED Feather + Down has also made a commitment to global human rights by requiring affidavits signed by all vendors that no material in any ALLIED supply chain is directly or indirectly associated to the Xinjiang region or anywhere else that human rights are violated. 

From the DIY backpacker to The North Face, ALLIED is proud to work with partners both small and large and consider each equally important. Every one of ALLIED’s customers is considered a partnership – which is why we offer tools like TrackMyDown and other assets free of charge. We work together closely to provide the best pricing and quality and try to help advise on best timing as it can change season to season and even brand to brand. 

And as a family owned business, we still rely on the hand shake deals with no complicated contracts as a barrier to entry. When material is committed to, we buy, so in the rare case of a natural disaster or bird flu, the material needed is secured and locked in. Even in the largest periods of the bird flu or Covid-19, not a single partner has ever been shorted material that was committed. 

View some of our partners here

From inception, ALLIED has stood as a leader in the industry setting important industry benchmarks, working towards developing the largest animal welfare standard in the industry and has received numerous awards from both the industry and our partner brands. 

  • 1987 ALLIED Feather + Down was started by Steve Uretsky as an insulation-focused brand. At the time, the growing outdoor market was serviced by bedding companies. Steve understood early the potential needs of down outerwear was different than the material used for comforters and pillows. ALLIED remains an insulation brand first and foremost. 
  • 2008 ALLIED becomes first down supplier to regularly audit farms for animal welfare requiring signed certificates by all supply chain vendors. 
  • 2010 ALLIED becomes first down supplier to receive prestigious bluesign system partner status. 
  • 2010 ALLIED works with Sierra Designs to develop DriDown, the first Water Resistant Down. 
  • 2011 ALLIED is the first supplier to enlist third party auditors to start building a certifiable supply chain for animal welfare. 
  • 2013 ALLIED begins pilot of the Responsible Down Standard alongside The North Face and Control Union. 
  • 2014 The RDS is gifted to the Textile Exchange in order to be used by anyone within the industry to better animal welfare practices across the globe. 
  • 2014 ALLIED is awarded TNF / VF Corp supplier of the year. 
  • 2015 ALLIED launches TrackMyDown so end users can learn more about the down inside their products. 
  • 2015 ALLIED is once again awarded TNF / VF Corp. supplier of the year. 
  • 2015 ALLIED wins prestigious ISPO Innovation Awards for portfolio of innovative down insulations. 
  • 2016 ALLIED honored as part of the Nike Premium Supplier Program
  • 2017 ALLIED announces 100% global supply chain certified to robust third party animal welfare standards. 
  • 2017 ALLIED again honored honored as part of  the Nike Premium Supplier Program
  • 2018 ALLIED, TNF and Control Union recipients of the 2018 “Together We are a Force” award in the sustainability category for the creation of The Responsible Down Standard. 
  • 2018 ALLIED again honored honored as part of  the Nike Premium Supplier Program
  • 2019 ALLIED wins coveted ISPO Gold Award for TrackMyDown in the sustainability category. 
  • 2020 ALLIED wins Outdoor Retailer Innovation award for Optix iMirror project. 
  • 2021 Redesign of TrackMyDown wins coveted German Design Council Award.

Unlike many of our competitors, ALLIED Feather + Down is first and foremost an insulation brand providing the best and most sustainable insulation to technical and luxury outdoor and fashion brands. Most of the competition are bedding companies simply selling the same material used for duvets for use in outerwear. 

For ALLIED it is not one-size-fits-all. The quality of down needed for outerwear differs significantly in overall quality than that used for bedding. Bedding which requires a lot more material and uses much heavier fabric can have higher feather contents and does not need to be separated as thoroughly as that material going into a technical parka. 

To this day, ALLIED remains unique in that a majority of sales come through insulation. And we have leveraged our intimate and technical knowledge of down through two distinct bedding divisions in ALLIED Home and ALLIED Hospitality. 

ALLIED Home uses the same quality down going into the most luxurious and technical garments to fill retail bedding found in all major home goods retailers. ALLIED Home also employs ALLIED’s approach to quality, performance and sustainability and manufactures in the US, Canada and out of our own facilities in China. 

ALLIED Hospitality utilizes the resources of ALLIED Home to craft luxurious and sustainable bedding for some of the finest hotels and resorts worldwide.