Down is amongst the most sustainable ingredients in the textile industry from a raw material perspective. But how it is processed can have a tremendous impact on not only the quality of the insulation, but that insulation’s impact on the environment. A lot of time and money can be saved by using harsh chemicals and bleach to produce a “clean” down, but at what cost? ALLIED differentiates itself from those cheaper down supply chains by making sure that every detergent used is not only safe for the environment, but also palm oil free.

ALLIED also has a robust water recycling and treatment system to ensure that all water used in the processing of the down can be reused and done so that also reduces the amount of detergent needed in a typical processing.

ALLIED was the first down supplier to achieve bluesign® system partner status and continues to work with bluesign® in addition to Oeko-Tex so all down from ALLIED is both an official bluesign® approved and Oeko-Tex 100 certified ingredient.

ALLIED also works with the HIGG index and closely monitors all carbon emissions in all facilities. Our annual sustainability report can be accessed at the top of the page.

As stewards, ALLIED has partnered with Protect Our Winters and other important organizations to help change the way we, as a community at large, change the way we think about the things we use and how we impact the planet looking towards a cleaner, brighter future.

In 2019, a full scale Life Cycle Assessment was completed to understand the true impacts of down insulation versus the alternatives.

Recycled polyester insulation has 18 times higher climate change impact than down.

This study is also simply cradle to gate. It does not take into account the longevity of down products. Synthetic insulations have to rely on a mechanical crimping of the fibers to produce loft and warmth. As the natural shape of the fibers are straight, this mechanical crimping starts to straighten quite quickly and loss of loft is significant over a single season or two. Down, due the natural fibers’ ability to create loft will take decades to lose the same amount of loft and warmth. When considering the entire life of the product, the impact difference will grow even further.

Down also has a significantly higher warmth to weight ratio, meaning for a given warmth, much less material can be used – again saving resources that are not accounted for in this study.

Learn more about the LCA here.

ALLIED is committed to working with the HIGG index to increase our environmental performance and offer complete transparency to our partners and those consumers using ALLIED down filled products.

ALLIED is proud to have been the first down processor to achieve bluesign® system partner status and we continue to work with bluesign® to this day.

All ALLIED products are also bluesign® approved ingredients.

Learn more about bluesign® here

ALLIED is certified by OEKO-TEX® and all ALLIED products are OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certified.

Learn more about Oeko-Tex® certification here.

Working closely with LCA groups and energy consultants, ALLIED has built a roadmap looking toward a carbon neutral future. Too many companies rely on simple offsets to claim carbon neutrality, but we look to adopt a reduce – reuse – then offset approach.

With new innovations launched in 2021, we have already reduced processing emissions by more than 30% and continue to look at further efficiencies in an already low impact material.

ALLIED has an aggressive plan to provide the first carbon neutral down insulation to all partners by Fall 2023 and work toward carbon neutrality on a company-wide scale through our reduce – reuse – then offset platform in the following years.