Allied Feather & Down Products Awarded bluesign® Certification

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Feather & Down, a global, family-owned purveyor of feather and down, today announced that it has received certifications stating that all Allied products are bluesign® approved for textile manufacturers. This approval marks the first 100% natural, feather and down products to receive the bluesign® certification and places the company on an elite list of approved raw components for textile manufacturers committed to following the most stringent, environmentally-friendly standards without compromising functionality or quality.

The bluesign® standard guarantees that along the entire production chain, products only contain components and pass through processes that are harmless to people and the environment. The bluesign® standard is built around five key principles – resource productivity, consumer safety, air emission, water emission and occupational health and safety – and is designed to foster a healthy, responsible textile industry.

Allied Feather & Down provide a 100% natural, environmentally-friendly product that has evolved for 300 million years, saves energy and offers the world's best insulation. Down and feathers are a unique natural resource which Allied manufactures via proprietary processes that take sustainability into careful consideration. Always vigilant of their footprint on the environment, their feathers and down undergo a proprietary washing process using recycled water and bio-degradable detergent. Feathers and down are sourced from leading providers in Europe and China, an important and discernable distinction over the life of a garment or product.  In addition to the bluesign® certification, Allied Feather & Down is certified as asthma and allergy-free and has a sensitivity rating higher than "hypo-allergenic". A leader in the industry, Allied Feather & Down plays an active role in setting global industry standards for down as a founding member of the International Alliance for the Pro Down Initiative and a certified member of the International Down and Feather Bureau.

"We clean, grade and process more than 5 million pounds of feathers and down per year," said Steve Uretsky, president and CEO, Allied Feather & Down. "Our customers are global brands who are committed to the environment and to every element of the supply chain. We are aligned in our commitment to the environment," he added. "Approval by bluesign technologies ag has tremendous value to our company.  It's a validation of our continuous commitment to the environment and it creates awareness among the types of companies that we want to do business with."

The bluesign® bluefinder is an advanced search engine for textile manufacturers containing bluesign® approved raw materials and chemical components that meet the bluesign® standard. The advanced search engine is always up-to-date and provides textile manufacturers with the newest easy-to-use textile-relevant EHS information. The bluesign® bluefinder is the tool to help manufacturers manage their input streams regarding sustainability. "Our goal with the bluesign® certification is to enable committed companies in the textile industry to stay true to their goals of protecting people and the environment in a cost-effective way. By providing all of the information they need about products and input streams to them in advance," said Stefan Schlosser from bluesign technologies ag. The independent bluesign® standard is a guarantee that, along the entire production chain, products only contain components and pass through processes that are harmless to people and the environment," he added.

About Allied Feather:

Founded in 1987 Allied Feather & Down  has earned the trust of the most demanding global brands by delivering unsurpassed warmth, quality, comfort and peace of mind to its end user and by leading the way in managing the global supply of down for its business partners. Leading industry brands have the ability to influence the market and pick their supplier and they choose Allied Feather. Their choice of Allied Feather & Down as their supplier of product says a great deal about how this family owned company does business. If a product says Allied, it will offer warmth, quality, durability, comfort and an allergen-free guarantee.

About bluesign technologies ag

bluesign technologies ag was founded in 2000. Since then, the bluesign® standard has been adopted by different worldwide leading textile manufacturers. Various significant key players of the chemical and machine industry rely on the bluesign® standard and endorse it as bluesign® supporters. Several well-known brands of the sporting goods and fashion industry benefit as bluesign® members of the extensive knowledge of bluesign technologies ag. In 2011, SGS has acquired a 80% stake in bluesign technologies ag.

SOURCE Allied Feather & Down