Responsible Down Standard

The Responsible Down Standard (RDS) is a voluntary standard that incentivizes the down and feather industry to treat ducks and geese more humanely and rewards organizations leading the way. Producers are evaluated against the animal welfare requirements. Some, but not all, critical requirements include: 1) No force-feeding; 2) No live-plucking feathers, no molt harvesting (plucking loose feathers during certain life cycle stages); 3) Animals shall be handled humanely - no rough physical contact such as kicking, striking, or throwing animals, dragging or pulling waterfowl by the feathers, wings, head, neck, tail, or legs. RDS is owned and managed by Textile Exchange. Learn more here: https://textileexchange.org/about.