Down Jacket: Is The Down Content The Down Content? The Truth -- This "Velvet" Is Not That "Velvet"

Since the event of "replacing down with silk" was exposed, the topic of down jacket has been hot recently. On November 28, the State Administration of Market Supervision issued a notice to supervise the investigation and treatment of the manufacture and sale of fake and inferior down products in the three regions.

Down jacket is a common "magic weapon" for cold resistance in winter, but the public does not seem to have sufficient understanding of it. False statements such as "white down is more warm than gray down", "down jacket is thicker and warmer", "down jacket is most suitable for dry cleaning" are popular online, misleading consumers.

Today, the reporter will check the rumors related to down jackets one by one to help you clear the fog and find the truth.

Is the pile content the pile content?

Truth: This "velvet" is not that "velvet"

Nowadays, in order to buy down jackets with high cost performance ratio, many consumers will carefully read the product description, especially pay attention to the down content or down content. Some people think that the cashmere content is the cashmere content. Is that true?

"The down content is not equal to the down content. The down content refers to the proportion of 'down' in down, that is, the proportion of down and down silk in down." Lu Yehu, member of the Standardization Committee of the China Textile Engineering Society and professor of the School of Textile and Garment Engineering of Suzhou University, said in an interview with reporters that down refers to the down that grows on the skin layer of poultry and is covered by hair pieces, It is generally flower shaped, which is a "sharp weapon" for poultry to resist cold and keep warm, and is also the main identification index of down jacket quality. Filament usually refers to a single filament falling from a pile or piece of wool.

At present, the applicable national standard for down clothing is Down Clothing (GB/T14272-2021), which will be implemented on April 1, 2022. According to Paragraph 1 of Article 3 of the Standard, down clothing refers to clothing with down as filler, and the express value of down content is not less than 50%. Compared with the old standard before 2022, the new standard changes the "down content" in the definition of down clothing to "down content".

Xu Jie, secretary-general of the Standardization Committee of the China Down Industry Association, pointed out that the down silk has smell, is easy to drill down, and has relatively poor warmth retention. Based on the above three problems, the new standard removes the down silk from the definition of down clothing and makes the above modifications.

"The new standard is more specific and further standardizes the production and sales of down garments," said Lu Yehu.

Is white down warmer than gray down?

Truth: Color has nothing to do with warmth

Down is mainly divided into duck down and goose down. The reporter inquired about China Down Information Network and found that the cost price of white duck down and white goose down is generally slightly higher than that of similar gray duck down and gray goose down. In line with the idea of "one price, one product", many people think that the expensive white down is more warm than the gray down. Is that really the case?

"In fact, it's not true. Down in different colors is just from different kinds of birds and animals, so we can't judge its warmth retention." Lu Yehu said that the reason why white down and its products (down jackets, duvets, etc.) are more expensive than similar gray down and its products is not because they have better warmth retention, It is because the white down is light in color and can be used as the filler of high-grade light colored fabrics, while the gray down is dark in color and has relatively low application value.

The thicker the down jacket, the warmer it will be?

Truth: Overfilling is counterproductive

Many consumers believe that the thicker the down jacket, the warmer it will be. Is this view scientific?

"The quality of down and the fluffy degree of down are two major indicators to measure the warmth retention of down clothing." Lu Yehu explained that the quality of down is related to factors such as down content and type. For example, as for duck down, the warmth retention of 90% down is higher than that of 80% down; The down content is 90%, and the warmth retention of duck down is generally lower than that of goose down.

Lu Yehu introduced that, generally, the higher the fluff, the better the insulation of down jacket. The fluffy degree of down clothes will be affected by clothing style and filling structure. The larger the space between lining and fabric, the more static air stored, and the better the insulation of down jacket. However, if the down jacket is filled with too much down, it will reduce the fluffy degree of down, reduce the static air storage, and affect the warmth retention.

In 2007, researchers from Hangzhou Xiaoshan National Down Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Center published a paper entitled "Relationship between the warmth retention of down products and down quality". The article points out that when the down product's filling capacity reaches 200g per square meter, the thermal insulation rate of 80% down and 90% down tends to be the same; When the filling amount per square meter exceeds 200g, the heat preservation rate of 80% and 90% of the pile is in a downward trend.

Lu Yehu's team has also done relevant research, and the research results have been published in international journals, confirming the above conclusions. "If the filling space is limited, when the filling amount exceeds a certain threshold, the fluffy degree of a single feather will decline, leading to the thicker the down jacket, the less warm it will be," he said.

Down jacket is most suitable for dry cleaning?

Truth: Dry cleaning agents can damage down

The price of down jacket is generally high. Some people are afraid that the washing machine will damage the down jacket, so they think it is better to send it to dry cleaning. Is this right?

Quyi, a staff member of the Information Department of China Down Industry Association, pointed out in an interview with the media that dry cleaning of down jackets is not recommended, because dry cleaning agents will damage down and affect the warmth retention of down jackets.

Usually the label on the inside of the clothes will be attached with clear washing instructions. The reporter saw that many brands of down jackets were marked with "dry cleaning is not recommended", or even "dry cleaning is not allowed".

At present, tetrachloroethylene, the main component of commonly used dry cleaning agents, will damage the protein component of down, causing the down felt to be consolidated, hardened, and lose its bulkiness, thus reducing its warmth retention.

"Many people dare not wash down jackets in water, mainly because they are afraid of adhesion and caking of down. But in fact, water washing will not damage down. As long as you slap more in the process of drying, so that the down is fully 'covered', the warmth of down jackets will not be greatly reduced." Lu Yehu said.

Quyi reminds that when washing down clothes, it is better to use neutral detergent or professional detergent, and washing should not be too frequent. Remember not to use vacuum compression bags to store down jackets, which will affect the quality of down.

(Source: CCTV)