Down and Feathers
Specifications Between Vendors and Buyers

Because feather and down material is not homogeneous, specifications for the purchase of down and feather products need to be clearly written. Tolerances need to be clearly stated. The testing method and variances should also be stated.

Material Tolerances. If the buyer specifies a product that is to be labeled down, the buyer should indicate what tolerance system is used or the buyer should specify their own tolerance. Examples include:

1. Old FTC(Labeled down must contain a minimum of 80% down and fiber and a minimum of 70% down cluster.)
2. New USA 2000(Product must contain a minimum of 75% down cluster.)
3. Buyer specification(Product must contain a minimum of 80% down and fiber and a minimum of 73% down cluster.)

Testing Variances. Because of the non-homogeneous nature of down, each piece will test slightly different. Approximate testing variances are as follows:

• Content Analysis (2-3%)
• Specie Identification (5% or more)
• Fill Power (5%)

The buyer should indicate how product compliance will be determined. There are two options:

• Option 1: Every piece meet minimum levels. (This is very difficult to accomplish because of the nature of the product.) If every product piece must meet minimum requirements, the average values must be much higher than the material tolerance level.
• Option 2: The average of test results must meet minimum levels. A buyer might specify that 5 samples will be tested and the average results of the 5 samples must meet minimum tolerance levels.

Most important is that vendor and buyer agree in writing on the material specification as well as the testing method and allowable variances.