What are feather and down and where do they come from? Down is the soft under coating of waterfowl, consisting of thousands of light, soft and fluffy fiber filament fibers growing from a quill point, but without the quill shaft. The lightweight down is designed for maximum benefit for the bird in providing warmth without increase in weight. Feathers are the plumage or outgrowth forming the contour and external covering of fowl. Feathers are characterized by a horny central hollow quill shaft or quill from which filament seminate. Our down fills are a byproduct of the food industry and comes from the geese and ducks that are raised for food. The most common down found in comforters is white goose down, although gray goose, white duck and gray duck are also used. Down Home Outlet buys the highest quality down and feather, from reputable sources from around the world. We select these suppliers for its quality, strength, and cleanliness. How is the down cleaned and processed? Washing, Rigorous Cleaning and Separating Our down and feather is washed up to 8 to 10 times, with anti special bacterial cleaning agents that leaves the down at a neutral pH and strengthened for long term endurance and reduced deterioration. Our cleaning standards are well above government standards for down products. This rigorous cleaning process helps too remove the dust and dirt, which helps us to provide hypo allergenic down products to our customers. Environmentally friendly down and feather products are naturally designed for providing comfort and warmth Natural down fills are a by-product of the poultry food industry and are biodegradable. Whereas polyester insulators are petroleum based synthetics and is not biodegradable. Natural feathers and down are fully biodegradable. Down is up to four times as efficient as synthetics polyester in retaining heat and certainly much more durable. Down and cotton combined have a breathable quality to them, absorbing and lifting moisture away. You won't get that sweaty feeling that you usually get with polyester comforters and pillows (that can collect and reflect moisture). The remarkable feature of natural insulation is that while retaining most of the warm air around your body, a controlled amount of air is allowed to circulate. Polyester fills cannot match this quality that down and feather products can. Polyester fills cannot match this quality that down and feather products can. Down and feather products wash well (better than polyester products – which tend to clump up after washing). We suggest using commercial machines or using a professional, experienced service when washing comforters.As preventatives measure against the growth of dust mites, which has been shown to be an allergen, we use high thread count fabric that not only keeps down in but also tight enough to keep mites out. Down Home Outlet's down is washed up to eight times, which makes it cleaner than our competitors' down. This is how we can provide down products that are warranted to be hypoallergenic. If you are not completely allergy free we will replace the product or refund your money.