How Natural Fills Are Tested By DOWNLITE
Testing the Down and Feathers to ensure their high quality is something DOWNLITE takes pride in. We test all the raw materials and the finished products thoroughly to make sure they meet or exceed our standards and the customer's standards. DOWNLITE operates an internal testing laboratory with IDFL trained technicians in our Blue Ash processing plant. In addition, we work with several outside down and feather testing institutions including IDFL and California Down & Feather. Both of these facilities regularly test down from both down processors and retailers of the finished goods. Many larger retail and catalog chains request officially certified tests from these companies to audit their inventory of down product. Tests can usually be performed within a few days and cost up to a few hundred dollars.
Quick Testing Facts:
- Our internal standards for Hypoallergenic Natural Fills far exceed the standards set by the USA government.
- Our Hypoallergenic down and feather fillings are marketed under the RestAssured® trademark.
- Out Natural Filling Test Scores Exceed: Fill Powers from 550 to 900, Turbidity > 550, Oxygen Counts < 4.5
Testing the Raw Materials
There are several critical stages involved with producing high quality natural fill. First and foremost is the purchasing of the raw materials. While anyone can purchase raw materials to process down, it takes an experienced buyer and trusted suppliers to consistently buy high quality material. We use suppliers from Hungary, Poland, China, Canada and France to supply us with all different kinds of fills to meet any quality requirement. Most of these suppliers have long term relationships with DOWNLITE that have existed for 10 years or more. Through these channels of procurement, DOWNLITE has forged a reputation for buying high quality raw materials at competitive prices.
The processing of these raw materials is a skill that we have honed over the past 30 years. First, we examine and test every shipment of raw material to ensure that the quality of the shipment is up to DOWNLITE's standards. We test these shipments two ways. We have a fully equipped in-house laboratory where we perform down content tests, specie tests, oxygen and turbidity tests and fill power tests. We also send a sample of the shipment to IDFL testing lab in Salt Lake City to get a corroborating test report. Once we determine that the raw material is the correct quality, we assign a lot number to the material and it is now approved for use in processed material.
Testing the Finished Products
Every customer orders a different fill, so each one has a different recipe that needs to be tested to ensure its quality. Beginning with the high-quality raw materials that we already have, we create a recipe to produce the required fill. We then make a test batch, test it at our in-house lab and send it to IDFL for extra testing. Once the recipe is confirmed, we produce.
Fill Power
Fill power is a measure of how 'fluffy' or 'lofty' down is. The higher the fill power, the more it traps air, and it's trapped air that keeps the sleeper warm. The actual test involves weighing and filling a cylinder tube with 28.4 grams of down. A specially calibrated weight is then placed on top of the cylinder and its weight is slowly allowed to fall onto the down for 60 seconds. The tester will observe the markings on the side of the cylinder where the weight stops. The higher the fill power, the loftier the down is and the better an insulator it is. This test is performed again 24 hours later and the results are compared and averaged. The typical fill power is approximately 525 and can reach as high as 900 or more in premium bedding or special sleeping bags. As fill power increases, the value of the down goes up significantly.
Fill power can be influenced by a variety of factors including: sitting in transit, humidity, temperature, static electricity and timing issues.
Turbidity
Turbidity is a technique that involves measuring 10 grams of down and placing it into a special beaker with 1 liter of water. This beaker is then sealed up and vigorously shaken for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the mixture is strained using a special filter and placed into another long tube. The tester will visually look down into the opening of this cylinder and see if a pair of cross hairs on the bottom are visible. On the outside of this clear cylinder are markings with measurements that indicate the amount of liquid in the container. The cylinder is filled to the top where the marking is 550-this is an excellent level and the highest as typically measured in the United States (150 is considered acceptable in the United States - where as some Japanese companies prefer 800). If the tester has trouble viewing the cross hairs the beaker is emptied until they are visible from the top. In essence, the higher the turbidity number, the 'cleaner' the down.
Oxygen
The oxygen test is a technique where the presence of organic materials is measured. Organic materials are found in unwashed products that come from the meat processing plants-including blood from the waterfowl. The test is somewhat complicated but basically involves applying specially measured chemicals to the same water used for the turbidity test. The lower the Oxygen count, the less organic materials that are present in the finished product. A good Oxygen test measures around 4.5 or lower.
FTC Down Guideline: Any product with at least 75% down clusters may be labeled as "Down". The remaining 25% are usually comprised of down and feather fibers and small feathers (less then a few cm - can be up to 6 cm).
