Global Traceable Down Standard

The Global Traceable Down Standard (Global TDS) ensures that down in garment, household and commercial products comes from a responsible source that respects animal welfare and can be transparently traced.

Down is a byproduct of the food industry. In this down supply chain, birds may be force fed for foie gras production or even live plucked to get more than one harvest of down from a single bird. The Global TDS goes beyond current industry practice to include the parent farm in the auditing while other programs start at the hatchery. The standard also involves a chain of custody component that verifies that traceability systems are in place throughout the entire supply chain, to provide assurance that conventional down has not been mixed with certified down.

Certification is provided not only at the product level but as a whole to the full supply chain feeding into the product line. The Global TDS is developed by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), which provides public health standards and certification programs that help protect the world’s food, water, consumer products and environment.