The down and feathers we often say are the by-products of the waterfowl meat food industry. This is because waterfowl float on the water surface, which is different from land-fowl that are not accustomed to water (birds that often move on the ground). Plush contains oily ingredients, which can effectively block moisture, and their down is recoverable and has excellent elasticity, and accordingly, its bulkiness is also high. The down we often say generally comes from geese and ducks of waterfowl.
With the development of our country’s economy and the improvement of people’s living standards, the market for down clothing in China is gradually opening up. In recent years, the competition in the down industry has been very fierce. For experts, the “goose and duck competition” has become a new trend. The focus of attention of consumers who are exposed to down products. The following is a brief description of the “Goose and Duck Controversy”:
1. Smell
Even though geese are much fatter than ducks, geese are completely vegetarians and never eat meat. They only love aquatic plants and algae. Even if they are artificially fed, they still eat vegetables and rice. Ducks, which are not taboo, are keen on insects, earthworms, fish and shrimp, etc. It can be said that whoever catches them will eat whoever comes.
Because the omnivorous food eaten by ducks contains a lot of fat, duck down contains more fat and generally has a fishy smell, which is called “fat fishy” and “duck body odor” in the industry. This has caused some processing factories to use deodorant incorrectly in the process of decontamination and degreasing in order to remove the peculiar smell of duck down. Although the new down products do not smell very good, the smell will return after a few months And it will take at least a year for it to dissipate naturally. And geese are herbivores through and through, so goose down itself has no odor problem, and it is guaranteed to be odorless and tasteless from the source, and it smells as natural as breathing air.
Smell has always been the focus of disputes between geese and ducks, but it is unfair to say that “duck down has a stronger smell than goose down”. The China Down Industry Association stated: “The production and processing processes of goose down and duck down are the same. Goose down and duck down that meet the standards are odorless and harmless, while goose down and duck down that have peculiar smells do not meet the standards.” So no need Worry about the smell of qualified down products.
2. Warmth
As mentioned above, geese are fatter than ducks, that is, the body of geese is usually larger than that of ducks, and the down of goose down is also larger than that of duck down. Naturally stronger.
It should be known that the bulkiness and warmth retention of down are in an absolute proportional relationship, but whether it is goose down or duck down, there are many factors that affect the bulkiness of down. Under the condition of the same down content:
1. The ratio of velvet to velvet in down
The higher the proportion of velvet in down, the better the bulkiness and the better the quality of the down. On the contrary, the higher the proportion of down silk in the down, the worse the bulkiness.
2. Down flower size and oxygen consumption index in down
The larger the velvet, the higher the fluffiness, on the contrary, the smaller the velvet, the lower the fluff, and the lower the down quality. Down and feather fibers, like other protein fibers, have relatively stable chemical properties and are generally not easily oxidized. Washed down can greatly reduce the content of reducing substances, and oxygen consumption is one of the important indicators to measure the effect of down washing.
Judging from the above information, whether goose down or duck down is better depends on the feather quality of the purchased goose down and duck down, and secondly depends on the process of goose down and duck down processing, as well as the means of quality control management of the feather company.
3. Down products
We collectively refer to goose down and duck down as down, and down jackets, duvets, and down sleeping bags made of down as fillings are called down products. Soft, fluffy and warm down products are natural good products to keep out the cold, and are deeply loved by consumers.
At present, domestic down products are mainly filled with duck down, which has been recognized by consumers after years of market development. The breeding time of ducks is relatively short, while the breeding time of geese is usually twice or more than that of ducks. The higher cost of goose breeding determines that the price of goose down is much higher than that of duck down. In terms of cost performance, duck down has a more competitive advantage than goose down.
Foreign developed countries mainly use goose down as the raw material for down quilts, while duck down is still the main raw material for down jackets. In addition to the price factor, there is a very important reason why duck down is the main raw material for down jackets at home and abroad, that is, compared with quilts, clothing needs to be washed frequently, and duck down contains more oil, which is a good protective layer for down. It can keep duck down with good fluffiness even after repeated washing. However, goose down contains less oil and is not resistant to washing. Too many times of washing will easily lead to the separation of the velvet and the velvet core, the rupture of the velvet, the increase of the velvet, and the decrease in bulkiness. A down manufacturer once carried out washing tests on goose down jackets and duck down jackets with the same down content. After the same number of washings, the down content of goose down jackets decreased by 5%, and the down content of duck down jackets only dropped by 1%.
Therefore, it is said that Plum blossoms make snowflakes three points crystal clear and white, but snowflakes lose a little fragrance to plum blossoms.Goose down and duck down have their own advantages and limitations, which cannot be generalized, let alone distinguish which is good and which is bad. The most important thing is to look at the needs of customers themselves.
Post time: May-04-2023