RAL nomenclature

There were essentially three good reasons for the formulation of a new standard:

The term "half-down" dates back very far into the 19th century. The entire plumage from a goose or duck (feathers, down and quill feathers) was collected and then washed and dried by hand. After this, the quill feathers – which are not suitable for bedding articles – were removed. What remained was the so called "half-down", a blend of feathers which usually contained between 15 and 20 per cent down. Therefore, the term was not at all used to describe a mixture containing "one half down and one half feathers", but it was applied for a blend made "partly of feathers, partly of down".

No, they must not. The regulations of the RAL 092 A2, which was in force in Germany between 1932 and 2004, and which provided the definition of these terms, was repealed with effect from December, 31^st 2004. The suppliers of bedding are not allowed use these regulations anymore since January 1^st 2005, neither for labelling nor for purposes of advertising.

 

 

The most important and the most obvious difference is related to the information on the filling’s massshares of down and feathers which are specified in per cent. The percentage of down plays an important role in this: the higher the down content, the higher the filling power and the thermal retention of the product with – at the same time – a lower weight.

 

The down and feather shares are not indicated anymore by a narrative text, at least not without the obligatory composition labelling expressed in percentages.