RDS – Responsible Down Standard
It was developed through an open and transparent process led by Textile Exchange and a multi-stakeholder group that included representatives from across the industry and different sectors, including animal welfare groups, industry organizations, supply chain members, brands and domain experts.
Responsible Down Standard
About the standard
It is owned and managed by Textile Exchange.
It is a voluntary international standard that addresses animal welfare in the duck and goose supply chain and the chain of custody of down and feather material from certified farms to final products.
It aims to ensure that down and feathers come from animals that have not been subjected to unnecessary harm.
It can be used to reward and influence the down and feather industry to incentivize practices that respect the humane treatment of ducks and geese.
Objectives
The objectives of the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) are:
- To ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that down and feathers do not come from animals in a supply chain that have been subjected to unnecessary harm.
- Reward and influence the down and feather industry for practices that respect the humane treatment of ducks and geese.
- Supply chain education and development to drive continuous improvement of best practices.
- Provide companies with a tool to know what is in their products and make accurate claims.
- Ensuring a strong chain of custody for certified materials as they move through the supply chain.
Scope
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RDS requires all sites to be certified, starting at the farm and slaughterhouse, the processing of down or feathers, the assembly of the final products, all the way to the seller in the final business-to-business transaction.
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Farms and slaughterhouses are certified according to strict animal welfare requirements.
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Downstream stages of the supply chain must be certified to the requirements of the Content Claim Standard (CCS) all the way to the seller in the last business-to-business transaction. Facilities are certified to the standard and each shipment of goods must be accompanied by a transaction certificate (TC). When ordering RDS-certified products, a TC will ensure that the down and feather material is sourced from certified farms. RDS can be applied globally. It applies only to sites in the waterfowl down and feather supply chain. Materials harvested from wild birds are not eligible for certification.
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Recycled down is not eligible for certification. The Standard applies to products containing at least 5% RDS material, calculated as a percentage of the down or feather material.
Documents
RDS Standard (Responsible Down Standard) version 3.0
Specification of logo use.
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