Recycled Down Story: The Insulation Revolution

Article published at: Nov 4, 2019
Recycled Down Story: The Insulation Revolution
All The Journal Article comments count: 0

In 2015, Nau became the first apparel brand to introduce a recycled down collection. Any time a waste stream can be turned into a resource, it’s a good move for the planet —and a breakthrough as big as recycled down felt like winning the lottery. 

The story of recycled down begins at our Portland, Oregon headquarters. In the first episode below, our design team talks about how the insulation revolution began, what makes recycled down the ultimate insulation material.

In the second episode, we took a look inside the recycled down collection facility we first used outside of Paris, France, where post-consumer down is collected and sorted for recycling. 

 

In this last episode, we visited the family-owned recycled down cleaning facility near Budapest, Hungary, where the gathered and sorted recycled down is processed for use in apparel.

 

The factory from which we currently source our recycled down is in California. Starting with reclaimed duvets and pillows, the down and feathers are removed, cleaned, and then sorted according to their quality. This allows us to select recycled down with the exact same specifications as virgin down, and thus identical performance characteristics.

To ensure our down supply is truly traceable and 100% recycled, we work with independent organizations, including the Global Recycled Standard and SCS Recycled Content Certification to verify the source and composition of our recycled down products.

We've proven recycled down can achieve the premium fill power required for cold-weather performance, leading many major outdoor industry brands to initiate their own recycled down collections.  

Shop Our Recycled Down Collection.

Share:

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published