Textile Terms - Down

Down - Introduction

Down is composed of featherless hair, many clusters of filaments growing on its feathers.

Down it looks more like a seed of dandelion, a blossoming pompom fluttering. Down light, fluffy, goose, duck and other waterfowl used for inner warmth. Land birds, such as chickens do not produce down.

Down generally according to the source can be divided into goose down and duck down, according to the color is divided into white velvet and gray velvet, of course, in addition to Icelandic velvet duck production of black velvet and so on. In contrast, better feathers generally come from larger, more mature birds, so goose down will be slightly better than duck down. From the color point of view, white cashmere because it is white, can be used for light-colored fabrics and not transparent, more popular than gray velvet.

Down-Features

light

If compared to cotton, the same weight down it can be fluffy several times. An anti-cold wear if only down to a few hundred grams of down is enough to protect the cold, and if using cotton often requires kilograms, a few kilograms to achieve the same effect. Therefore, down products can be compressed for easy transport or transportation.

One ounce down can provide about 3 times the warmth of man-made material compared to rayon. Its fluffy ability is better, more durable and more uniform. Man-made materials will leave some "cold spots" by splicing the base material and the fabric, and the down through different expansion will form a "model" around the human body. Down also has very good breathability, and it can drain away sweat by capillary action, so that people do not feel the stickiness of the body, and when using artificial materials, often have this feeling.

Keep warm

In the four natural warmth materials of cotton, wool, silk and down, down warmth is the best. Research institutes in France and Germany have duvets as the best bedding. Li Shizhen, a great medical scientist in China, once mentioned in the “Compendium of Materia Medica”: “Choose goose's fleece as a garment, be fluffed, soft and cold, and it is necessary to relieve baby’s fright.” Explained from a modern point of view, down The health care function of the quilt is determined by the unique properties of the warm and moisture absorption of the down. From the perspective of warmth retention, the research findings published by French scientific research institutes suggest that there is no warming material in the world that exceeds the thermal performance of down feathers, because down feathers are a star-shaped structure, and each pile can be seen under a magnifying glass. It is scaly, with countless tiny pores, containing a large amount of still air. Since the air has the lowest conduction coefficient, it forms a good warmth for down, plus it is downy and full of elasticity. It is tested with a down rate of 50%. Its lightness and fluffiness is 2.5 times that of cotton and 2.2 times that of wool, so the duvet is not only gentle and warm, but also has a good touch.

Breathable

In addition, the downy also has the good performance of moisture absorption and dispersion that other warming materials do not have. It has been determined that when a person is sleeping, the body continues to radiate outwards with sweat. An adult's sweat emanates from about 100 grams overnight, and the down can constantly absorb and discharge the sweat released by the person so that the body does not feel wet and stuffy. In summary, due to the soft warmth and moisture absorption characteristics of feather down, the cover down comforter feels warm and comfortable without pressure. It is normal blood pressure, the central nervous system is stable, and it quickly enters sweet dreams. Therefore, there is also an excellent effect on beauty, and it is precisely because of the truth that “down under the duvet”.

Down - the difference between feathers and down

Feather is a planar structure, its main role is to fly, and smaller feathers are used for protection. The feathers mainly cover the outer layers of birds and their structure is flat. A feather is a stiff feather stem from one end to the other, and consists of a series of fibers forming a planar structure on both sides of the feather stem.

Down is a three-dimensional structure that is soft, fluffy and easy to keep warm. So it can "swell". Each tuft of down feathers can hold more air than other man-made materials at the same weight. There are about 2 million filaments per ounce of down, and these filaments overlap and interweave to form a protective layer that can be insulated and insulated by fixed air.

After down and feathers are washed and dried by a special process, they are graded by blasting. After selecting the equipment, the best feathers floated into the highest box, followed by the middle box, feathers, and because they were heavier, they fell into the bottom box. The entire process must be performed correctly to remove odors and ensure permanent feathering of the down.

In general, the best down is always from bigger, more mature birds. Compared to mature birds of the same age, goose down is better than duck down. However, the feathers from older ducks are better than those from younger geese. The larger down has a very high insulation-to-weight ratio. Using this down duvet or down sleeping Bag will be very light and very warm. And they can be used for decades.

On the other hand, the low quality white goose down contains a small amount of velvet. It will not be fluffy and the insulation-to-weight ratio will be low. Even if it is to use more weight of cashmere, it can not be as warm as the former. The feathers obtained from the smaller birds are not only less bulky, but they also "collapse" in a relatively short period of time. Because their fibers are too fragile. This is also usually the difference between expensive and cheap goose down.

Down-down product differences

You will find that the price of a white goose down duvet may be twice that of another white goose down duvet, or even more. There are many factors that affect quality and price inside. Just remember one sentence: one penny and one cent.

A cheap down product, filled with underage feathers, provides little warmth and “collapses” after a relatively small number of uses. It also takes shortcuts during production and cleaning, which often leads to strange tastes. The Canadian Feathering Association also found that a significant number of off-season down products contain a high percentage of feathers, even higher than the nominal velvet content on the label. The process and design of cheap feather products are usually very low. In general, buying a bargain (specify: "bargain" used in the original text, translated as "cost-effective" but afraid of drowning in drooling, had to use the word cheap) is usually a waste of your money.

A good quality product will certainly make you spend more, but it can make you warm and comfortable, and can use for a long time. Some will cost you 2 times more money, but it is more worthwhile to use 10 times more time.

Down - how to buy down products

Take a look at the product quality label, whether there is a name of the manufacturer, whether the filler is marked with cashmere, cashmere, cashmere filling, and fabric, lining ingredients.

The duvet is pressed down to flatten the down product, let it recover naturally for 3 minutes, then press the product by hand, then release the hand to see if the product can quickly rebound to restore the original shape, such as the bomb can not rebound or rebound very slowly This indicates that the quality of the filler is not good. If there is no elasticity at all, the filler is likely to be smashed feathers of chicken feathers or other long hair pieces instead of down feathers.

Touch the hand to feel the softness of the touch, whether there is a complete small hair piece or a long hair piece that is too thick or too thick, or a feather tube. If you feel soft and have a complete small piece, it is an authentic product. If it is too thick and long hair, the hand feels soft but the elasticity is poor, it is softer than the feather. Soft, but short-sharp, coarse shafts are crushed, and this type of garment does not provide warmth.

Four beat hard to beat the product to see if there is any dust spillage. If there is no dust overflow, it is a good product. If dust overflows, it is a product made from crushed wool or gray sand hair, and is generally not suitable for wearing.

Five kneading down the down products with both hands to see if there is plush drill, if there is plush to use the fabric is not anti-velvet.

Six sniffers approached down products with their noses to take deep breaths for several times, and then compared them with general fabrics to see if there were any odors or odors. No odor is best, and should not be worn if there is obvious odor.

The seven-pronged hand weighs down the weight of a down product while viewing the size of the volume. The lighter the weight, the greater the volume, the better. The same weight, such as the cashmere rate of 30%, the volume is greater than cotton twice: If the cashmere rate is more than 70%, then the volume is more than twice the cotton.

Eight trials to buy down jackets must try on, pay particular attention to the size of the bust, wear sweaters, and then wear down jackets, to feel neither tight nor loose, to be considered suitable for wear.

Down - Down comforter type

Goose down: big cashmere, small plumage, good quality, elastic foot, strong warmth;

Down jacket and duck down: Cashmere flowers and feather stems are worse than goose down, but their quality, elasticity and warmth are very high;

Goose and duck mixed velvet: cashmere flower general, poor elasticity, but good warmth;

Fly wire: smashed by raw chips, poor elasticity and warmth, powder, inferior quality, easy to agglomerate after washing

In addition to the above, the down quality is divided into South Velvet and Northern Cashmere. In general, the north produces more cashmere than the South, and the duck generally grows longer. Therefore, relatively speaking, the northern cashmere is better than the southern cashmere.

The down pillow pillow features white goose down, gray goose down, white duck down, grey duck down, goose duck mixed down and crushed down. The quality of the core received is mainly determined by its standard amount of velvet and the amount of lining. General duvet

The cashmere content is between 15 and 70%. The percentage of pure cashmere is higher, and the best quality is goose down, followed by duck down, and again the goose and duck mixed velvet. The elasticity and warmth of crushed cashmere are poor.

Down-down products credit guarantee mark

Feather products credit guarantee mark is registered trademark of China Feather & Down Industry Association in the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. It is a guarantee mark for the quality of raw materials for down products, processing quality and service, and is protected by law. The China Down Industry Association is a trademark registrant of the logo and enjoys the trademark exclusive right of the logo.

The flagged down product credit guarantee mark is a special mark for high quality down products. It represents the product is the highest grade and best quality product in the down industry. The logo applies to various down products made of goose, duck feathers and feathers. The logo proves the following three points:

1, the quality of down products meets the national and industry testing standards;

2, fabrics, fashionable, fine workmanship, for high-end products;

3, the company that produces the product has a good after-sales service system.

The China Feather & Downing Industry Association conducts strict audits and verifications of companies that apply for the mark of the guarantee of the quality of their down-hire products. In order to guarantee the quality and stability of Peihang Signs products and ensure the authority, seriousness and fairness of the guarantee signs for the down products, the association also re-checks and confirms the companies that have already attached the signs.

China Feather Industry Association insists on recommending new companies and their products to the major shopping malls and consumers across the country to ensure that consumers can buy down products with confidence to maximize the protection of consumer rights. .