Have you heard of the expression ‘everything old is new again’?
Well, sometimes that is what it seems like to us.
You might think that the idea of companies wanting consumers to be able to buy the best products or having protections aimed at quality is a new idea - but that’s not always the case, at least not in our case.
Respectfully, It was the whole reason our founding member companies voluntarily created our not-for-profit association over 4 decades ago!
The Down Association of Canada is an industry non-profit organization.
In 1976, down and feather business leaders from numerous individual Canadian companies realized that there was a need to band together and form a single independent non-profit body to protect Canadian down and feather finished products and the consumers who buy them.
Our mission statement and mandates established back in 1976 have never changed.
We have always believed in industry transparency, honest product labeling and supporting ethical down practices.
To this day, we continue to require our membership to follow those mandates in order to remain a part of our association as a member in good standing.
And it is only members in good standing who can be certified to sew-in our blue DOWNMARK® Certification label into their finished products.
Applications for and membership in the Down Association of Canada has always been and still remains voluntary.
Meaning all our member companies willingly apply and willingly comply with all the requirements we entreat of our membership.
Those requirements include our mission statement and mandates for ongoing industry transparency and supporting ethical down.
Therefore, every time you see the DOWNMARK® sewn into a Canadian made down and feather product, it means the same thing.
Our members are all like-minded.
In addition, since our inception, our association has fostered a strong relationship with the Canadian Government.
We have been a key contributor in the implementation of down and feather labelling guidelines in Canada, and our association was instrumental in having the first set of criteria effected by government standard for down and feather cleanliness in Canada.
We continue to be identified as a stakeholder and remain actively engaged both in policy and reporting with the Competition Bureau of Canada.
Naturally and rightfully, a lot has changed over the course of those 4 decades.
As requirements are amended and guidelines change, we strive to implement them.
In the bigger eco-picture, we are active within our worldwide industry.
As the Canadian National Industry Association, we are members of the IDFB; the International Down and Feather Bureau.
They are the international trade association of the down/feather industry (processors of raw material and/or producers of finished articles, filled with down/feathers), the down/feather trade and independent testing institutes for down/feather as filling material.
Their purpose is to provide a worldwide association for the down and feather industry.
Our association holds 2 seats on their supervisory board and sit on both the Technical Committee and Public Relations Committee.
The work of these committee’s encourages research on the global down and feather sustainable and humane practices and we support the IDFB with the publication of global industry white papers on ethical practices, humane treatment of animals and sustainable sourcing.
We encourage you to read this paper for more information