Chapter one    Recognize the down

There is such a material, she is gentle and warm, and is currently the world's best insulation filler;

There is such a material, she has a unique globular structure that looks like a bunch of dandelion seeds;

There is such a material, she is full of air, moisture, perspiration, and can breathe on her own;

She is a unique, green natural feather!

Unit one    What is the down?

How are birds classified?

Birds can be divided into terrestrial birds and water birds.

Terrestrial birds: any of various birds, such as chickens, turkeys, and pigeons, that often move on the ground. They have unwebbed feet, short breasts, and do not accustomed to water. Terrestrial birds only have pinaculum without velvet, feathers on the fiber without grease protection, easy to get wet.

Water birds: any of various birds, such as duck, goose, swan goose, grey goose, that taking water as living environment. They have webbed feet, longer chest, developed oil gland and accustomed to water. Because the water birds float in the water, its feather line contains the grease ingredient, which can effectively prevent moisture from being soaked and has the elastic, the fluffy degree is high, the water birds feather divides into the pinaculum and the down. The pinaculum grows basically in the neck, back, tail of duck (goose). Feathers grow in the chest and abdomen of duck (goose), down is the main warm material. Down clothing and bedding are filled with the feather down of water birds.

What is the down?

We known the velvet and pinaculum growing on goose, duck and other water birds as the down.

Velvet is the fluff close to the skin of a water birds and used to maintain body temperature. Refers to two or more down radiating from a nucleus to the surrounding area.

Pinaculum grows on the outer surface of the whole body of the water birds, protecting the water birds from the wind and rain. It has an inwardly curved feather shaft, flanked by a soft ride

Filamentous,  without the feather pole.

Soft pinnule, and the roots have dense little pinnule.

How do you classify the down?

Classification by species: goose down and duck down

Classification by color: white and gray

The characteristics of the down:

◆Down is natural:

The down is a by-product of the poultry industry and contains at least 80 per cent of the protein. It is a naturally degradable natural product.

◆Down is sustainable:

As the demand for goose and duck meat is long-term, and down is the most comfortable, the most warm natural warm materials, down products have a stable market demand, so the production of down feathers will last forever.

◆Down has strong resilience and high fluffy

Chemical fiber, cotton, wool, silk and other linear fibers have poor compressive resistance, easy to harden, material degradation is fast; Because the down itself is solid ball shape and is rich in the air that does not flow, the use also does not harden all the year round, it can keep its function as new for a long time. In general, the service life of the eiderdown quilt is 10-15 years, and the goose down quilt can be as long as 20-30 years.

◆Low combustibility of down

Down is animal protein that does not burn at temperatures below 100 degrees Celsius, so it passes the flammability test

But other materials, especially synthetic ones, require fire protection to pass the same test; in California, the fire resistance of down feather quilt is an exemption item.

◆Down has good moisture absorption and drainage:

The three-dimensional spherical structure of the down determines its larger surface area, so it will quickly diffuse after absorbing water. In addition, the down itself contains a certain amount of oil, and it has a good moisture absorption and drainage.

◆Down can reduce energy consumption

(1) The use of down products can reduce the need for room temperature, thereby saving heating energy

(2) Energy consumption can be reduced in the processing: according to statistics, in the processing and production of nylon, rayon, cotton, acrylic fiber, polyester, organic cotton, wool and down, the power consumption per kilogram of down is 1.8441 kwh, its carbon dioxide emissions are 553 grams, the carbon dioxide emissions of down are the lowest. Therefore, down is the most energy-saving and environmentally friendly natural thermal insulation materials.

Why down is the best heat insulating material in the world

The heat preservation property of feather down must be discussed from the way of heat transfer. Generally speaking, heat is mainly transmitted through conduction, convection and radiation. In the cold season, the heat of the human body is also distributed to the surrounding cooler space through these three ways. But in the case of wearing clothes or blankets, the distribution of heat is mainly conduction. This requires that the thermal conductivity of warm materials to be low. However, the feather down has the characteristic which the thermal conductivity is low.

High quality down has a higher fluffy degree, which is incomparable to any other warm materials. The more fluffy the material, the larger the space between the fibers, and the more stagnant air it contains. Air is a poor conductor of heat and can act as a barrier to the transfer of heat around it. Therefore, the higher the fluffy degree, the better the warmth retention. If the difference in thermal conductivity between fabric fibers is not taken into account (in fact, the difference is very small), the thermal conductivity of down products is 20-50% lower than that of ordinary fabrics of the same thickness, that is, 1-4 times higher in thermal insulation. The higher the density of the filler, the greater the thermal conductivity, and the more heat lost. The down with high down content has a higher fluffy degree, the density of the products is smaller under the same thickness, so the warmth retention is higher. Therefore, the use of down with high down content can appropriately reduce the weight of the filling material, which can not only obtain the same warmth retention, but also reduce the weight of the product. This is why the down products have the characteristics of "light, soft and warm".

The down content is higher, the fluffy degree of the down generally is also higher, the relative warmth retention is better and more comfortable. Down content is not 100%, unless it can be achieved by hand selection, the highest down content in machine sorting can be up to 95%. Down filler must contain a certain proportion of small pinaculum, because the pinaculum can play a role in rapid rebound. Therefore, determine the appropriate content of down can relatively reduce the amount of plush, so as to achieve the same warm purpose.

It can be seen that in natural thermal insulation materials, the best thermal insulation is the down, followed by camel hair cloth, and then followed by wool, camel hair and cotton.

What are the main producing areas and processing areas of feather down in the world?

Mainly produced in Asia and Europe

Asia is represented by China, the world's largest feather producer, as well as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan. At present, China is the world's largest producer, exporter, and consumer of the down and its products, with exports accounting for more than 70 per cent of the international market

Europe represented by Hungary, Poland, Germany, and France

In addition, the United States, Canada and other countries also produce feathers.

What are the main consumption countries of feather down products in the world?

China is the leading country in the consumption of down. Japan, the United States and some European countries represented by Germany also have strong consumption capacity

With the improvement of the national economy, the penetration rate of down clothing in China has been in the forefront of the world, but the penetration rate of down bedding is still very low, and is in the stage of market development.