DOWNPASS 2017
Safety and transparency for retail and consumers
Whether it's because of a booming market in outdoor pursuits or frosty winter days - weather-proof clothing, down jackets and sleeping bags are fashionable. Fashion-conscious city dwellers and ambitious sportspeople are united by the desire to experience nature without having to forego comfort.
Down and feathers are therefore particularly popular as filling material when it comes to low weight and perfect thermal conditions.
The DOWNPASS 2017 label identifies bedding, jackets, coats and gilets filled with premium quality down and feathers sourced from traceable origins.
A ban on live plucking, a ban on foie gras meat, and a monitoring policy for the breeding of ducks and geese.
The DOWNPASS 2017 is a zero tolerance standard that requires compliance with all three criteria, and a product can only receive the new logo if it meets these standards.
The quality, too, needs to be good: Any downs and feathers that are used must meet the requirements of the two highest classes under EN 12934.
- A ban on live plucking - no feathers and down from live animals
- A ban on foie gras meat
- A monitoring policy for the breeding of ducks and geese.
Mode details online: www.downpass.com and 40facts.org.
TRAUMPASS
The "Traumpass" label has been a symbol of quality-controlled bedding for 40 years. Only down and feathers that meet the quality criteria of the two highest classes of the EN 12934 standard and which are not sourced from living animals may be used as filling materials for products with the Traumpass label. The label thus provides both consumer information and consumer protection, as well as ensuring that the quality level of the products is maintained in a responsible manner.
Traumpass e. V. comprises 20 distinguished producers of feathers and down, most of whom are members of the VDFI, the German Down and Feather Association. For more than three decades, the Association has been committed to ensuring that the customers are offered products that are correctly labelled and which have undergone strict quality controls.
To meet these high standards, Traumpass e.V. has put in place strict guidelines and has its products regularly monitored by an independent organisation: the Hohenstein Institute, a world-renowned research facility.
Traumpass e.V. is the only trade organisation to have a mystery shopping and testing system in place for bedding articles. Under the supervision of a notary, impartial shoppers anonymously purchase bedding articles. The products are then sent to the Hohenstein Institute where they are tested; the testing results are afterwards evaluated under the supervision of a notary.
Since May 2012, Traumpass has been used to identify bedding products that exclusively use down and feathers not sourced from living animals as filling material. The origins of the down and feathers used is proven using a documented traceability system. Before companies can use the Traumpass label on their products, they must undergo a quality check and audit. This is managed by partner company DIN CERTCO, the certification organisation of TÜV Rheinland AG and DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V., which oversees quality control of the down and feathers, as well as their traceability.
The Traumpass label stands for best quality - certified.