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What are the requirements for the procurement of down and feathers?

Down and feathers are a natural material that provides high comfort, it has good heat insulating and absorbing properties to wick moisture away from the body. They are widely used for jackets, comforters, pillows, cushions and sleeping bags. used. At IKEA, we mainly use it for bedding and decorative pillows.

Sustainability and quality

To ensure good animal welfare, social and environmental conditions in the supply chain, IKEA can trace the origin directly back to the farms. IKEA's requirements for duck welfare are in line with the requirements of the Responsible Down Standard (RDS). We believe that aligning our requirements with this standard supports harmonized efforts in addressing animal welfare challenges. In addition to the RDS, we set requirements for social and environmental conditions through our Code of Conduct IWAY.

We use only new duck down and feathers, which are primarily bred for meat production. That means, we use a by-product of the meat industry. No animals are bred only for the use of their down and feathers.

 

Where do down and feathers come from?

All new down and feathers used in IKEA products come from a limited number of slaughterhouses, mainly in China and Hungary. We have full traceability from the IKEA supplier to the slaughterhouse and farms. This ensures that we meet acceptable standards for animal welfare and working conditions.

 

Composition

Down and feathers are a natural material that comes from birds. Down is the layer of fine, soft feathers that is under the harder feathers of the bird.

We have traceability right back to the farm and actively work with audits to ensure animal welfare, working conditions and environmental impact in production, in line with our updated Code of Conduct IWAY. At IKEA, we do not accept live plucking of birds. We only use down and feathers from ducks, as live plucking of ducks is very rare in the industry.  

 

Examples of down and feather products

IKEA uses down and feathers mainly for quilts, pillows and decorative cushions. About 20% of IKEA's range of quilts and pillows contain down and feathers from ducks, while about 80% are made from synthetic fabrics and/or other natural fibers. Down and feathers are used for products such as the FJÄLLARNIKA and FJÄLLHAVRE quilts and the LUNDTRAV, GULKAVLE and BERGVEN pillows.

 

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