- A duvet was advertised by a major Canadian department store as a White Goose Down duvet.
When tested it was found to contain only 64% down, under the minimum requirement of 75%. This down was a mixture of goose, duck and chicken rather than the goose stated on the label.
64% down
16% feather
20% fibre
***did not carry the Downmark label
Status:No longer on shelves
9. Feather pillows sold on a TV Direct advertising promotion.
When tested, the feather was found to be raw, feather,
never cleaned.
***did not carry the Downmark label
Status: All items recalled by vendor.
10. A duvet selling at a large retailer with stores across Canada is
advertised as a White Goose Down Duvet. It carries a well
known brand name. When tested this item was found to be
only 71.3% down, well below the 75% required by law. This
item was mainly duck down, not the goose down stated on
its labels and advertising.
***did not carry the Downmark label
Status: Under Investigation
11. A flyer sent out by a national retailer with over 400 stores in
the U.S. and Canada advertised two Down Duvets. One
is actually a polyester fill, the other an 85% feather/15% down
fill. Clearly their flyer was misleading. They repeated this
misrepresentation in their next flyer..
Their web site continues to list duvets which are NOT down
as down products. We found 5 such items the last time
we looked at this site.
***these items do not carry the Downmark label
Status: Changes were made to this retailer's web site
12. A pillow selling at a national retailer has very large inserts
stating it to be Feather & Down filling, Feather & Down Pillow as well as stating it is a special blend of naturally
luxurious feathers and down. When tested it was found to be
Waterfowl feathrs with a down content of 1.2%. This does not
constitute a special blend. This item should be advertised as
feather only. The amount of down in this fill is negligible. This is
very misleading.
***this item does not carry the Downmark label
Status: manufacturer was required to make changes to the
packaging inserts. The retailer's web site ad for this item was
also changed.
13. A pillow selling at a national retailer was advertised as Duck
down and feather. This pillow had two compartments, one
advertised as containing duck down and the other as
containing duck feather. Testing showed a feather content
of only 58.5%, far below the required 75%.
***this item did not carry the Downmark label
Status: item was removed from store shelves
14. A duvet selling at a national retailer across Canada is being
sold as a White Goose Down duvet. When tested it passed
on down with a fill of 75.2% (to be labeled down it must be
a minimum of 75% down). It failed on species. To be labeled
White Goose down the down must be a minimum of 90%
Goose. This was 72%, well below the standard.
***this item does not carry the Downmark label
Status: we have been told this is no longer on the shelves
15. A web site was found to be advertising a duvet as 100%
down. This is not allowed under Canadian law. They also have
a pillow advertised as White Goose down - with the content
shown as 10% down - 90% feather. To be advertised as down it must be a minimum of 75% down. They aslo have
moccasins advertised as down filled with a content of 60%
down/40% feather. This does not meet the minimum
requirement of 75% down content.
***these items do not carry the Downmark label
Status: web site ads were changed
16. We found a web site which states pure goose down
pillows. The word "pure" is not allowed under Canadian
regulations as there is no such product. We have found many
statements on this web site which we feel are misleading
to the public.
***the items sold on this web site do not carry the
Downmark label.
Status: Many of the problem statements on this web site have
been removed or changed
17. A retailer with 63 stores across Canada was selling a
down duvet which did not carry the proper tags. It had
no Canadian law tag. There was also no CA number
on the packaging. It was also advertised as baffle box
construction. It had no baffles, but was sewn through.
***this item does not carry the Downmark label
Status: no longer on shelves
18. A duvet selling at a national retailer advertised as White goose
down. It passed on content but failed on species.
***this item does not carry the Downmark label
Status: under investigation
19. A Goose down duvet sold across Canada failed on content, but
passed on species. ***this item does not carry the
Downmark label
20. A duck down duvet sold across Canada failed on content, but
passed on species. ***this item does not carry the
Downmak label.
21. A duvet selling at a national retailer as White goose down
failed on both content and species. ***this item does not carry
the Downmark label.
These examples stress the need for an industry watchdog such as the
Down√Check program. None of these fraudulent or misleading items carried the Downmark label used by members of the Down Association of Canada. The Downmark label and hang tags are a mark of quality in the industry.
Testing of Downmark Products
During 2007 we tested two Downmark products - both white goose down duvets - from different manufacturers. They both passed on both content and species. This was done as a part of our random testing of our member's products.
Misleading Advertising
As in any industry, it is important for the customer to ask questions about products they are thinking of purchasing. The down industry is no exception. The following are examples of misleading advertising that we have seen in the marketplace.
- 100% Down -there is no such thing - In the U.S. and Canada a product with a minimum of 75% down can be labeled as down, but not as 100% down. It is impossible to achieve a down product that does not have any feather at all in it.
Sections 29(3) and 38.1 Regulations (Canada) state:
The declaration "down" may not be preceded by words or figures indicating one hundred percent on a plumage product filled with "commercial down".
- Down - signage stating a product is down and the label stating it is a polyester product. This is very misleading to the customer as well as being illegal. It is important to always read the labels.
Misleading Statements
We sometimes come across statements that are misleading or untrue and will include some of those here:
- The biggest difference between goose and duck down is odor. Goose down has little to no odor.
This is incorrect. When downs are cleaned and processed correctly they do not have an odor. Any down that has not been properly processed will have an odor, whether duck or goose down.
- All birds have down and feathers.
This is not true, only waterfowl produce down. Landfowl, such as chickens, turkeys, robins, etc. do not.
3. "100% down" or "pure down" - the words are often used to
describe the fill in a down product. This is not allowed in Canada
as it is against the Federal regualtions. There is no such thing as
"pure down" or "100% down" and this description is therefore
considered to be misleading to the consumer.
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