Are DOWN products worth it?

Few years back, in India, I always wore woolen sweaters or polyester fill jackets during winters and used woolen blankets or cotton quits. After I came to USA, I was introduced to the products stuffed with down or body feathers. They are supposedly better insulators giving three times warmth per ounce of synthetics, which means lighter and a warmer product. Quite excited with the concept, I never thought where did these feathers come from? and do I want to support the industry that harvested them?

Just a few days back, I saw this picture and since then, I have been quite disturbed.

Some birds are live plucked, some are plucked after they are killed and some live plucked many times before they are killed. So yes, their story of production is quite disturbing as any other animal sourced product.

 Warmth is essential to our lives. But using our fellow animals for our own benefit is not right. We have gained the intellect to create alternatives that are ethical and cruelty free like synthetic down, down alternative, polyester fill and high tech fabrics like Thinsulate.

I am now determined to make my household and clothing feather free. And going forward, if any new animal commodity excites me, I will first learn how they are raised and treated in farms and factories.

These expensive bi- products are very profitable, better insulators, but surely not worth anyone's life.