GB/T 17685-2026Down and feather (English PDF)

3.1 Down and feather

A general term for down and feather growing on the body surface of waterfowl, as well as related components or constituents such as down fiber and feather fiber derived therefrom.

NOTE 1: Those with a down content (3.8) greater than or equal to 50 % are referred to as "down", and those with a down content (3.8) less than 50 % are referred to as "feather".

NOTE 2: Common down and feather include goose down, goose feather, duck down, and duck feather.

3.2 Pre-washed down and feather

Down and feather (3.1) shed from waterfowl, which have only undergone preliminary washing and drying and cannot be directly used as fillings for products.

NOTE 1: Pre-washed down and feather may contain quills and/or some residues (3.14).

NOTE 2: Quills refer to the wing feather and tail feather of waterfowl.

3.3 Fine washed down and feather

Down and feather (3.1) that have been processed through pre-separation, fine washing, high-temperature drying and fine separation, and can be used as fillings for products.

3.4 Virgin down and feather

Fined washed down and feather (3.3) that are processed from down and feather (3.1) collected during the slaughter of waterfowl such as geese and ducks or naturally shed from waterfowl, and used as fillings for products for the first time.

3.5 Reclaimed down and feather

Down and feather (3.1) obtained by disassembling traceable used down and feather materials and removing residues from their down and feather fillings, which require further processing.

3.6 Recycled down and feather

Moisture content

Percentage of the mass difference of the test specimen before and after drying relative to the mass before drying.

5.1 Basic requirements

5.1.1 Down and feather used for product filling shall be fine washed down and feather.

Pre-washed down and feather and reclaimed down and feather shall not be used directly for product filling, nor shall they be mixed into fine washed down and feather for filling purposes.

5.1.2 Virgin down and feather shall not contain sewing threads, fabric yarns, synthetic fibers, or other fibers derived from dismantled used articles.

5.1.3 The contents of alkylphenols (AP) and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APnEO) in down and feather shall comply with the provisions of Table 1. This item is not assessed for down and feather explicitly declared as recycled.

8.1 Marking

Products shall be marked with their name (e.g., pre-washed down and feather, fine washed down and feather, reclaimed down and feather, recycled down and feather), category (e.g., goose down, goose feather, duck down, duck feather), specifications (nominal down content, complying with the provisions of Table 3), implemented standard number, and item number.

If necessary, the product color may be indicated (e.g., white goose down, grey goose down, white duck down, grey duck down, etc.).

Example 1: Fine washed down and feather (goose down, 90 % down content).

Example 2: Recycled down and feather (duck down, 70 % down content).

8.2 Packaging

Suitable packaging materials shall be used for machine-pressed or loose-pack packaging to prevent damage to the products during transportation and storage.

8.3 Transportation and storage

Transportation and storage of the products shall meet the following conditions:

- maintain cleanliness, well ventilation, and dryness; avoid mixing with flammable materials or items with strong odors;

- dedicated warehouses shall be disinfected regularly; pre-washed down and feather, virgin down and feather, reclaimed down and feather, recycled down and feather, and other auxiliary products shall be stored in separate warehouses or zones;

- different varieties and specifications shall be stacked separately.

A.1 Principle

A certain amount of test specimen is subjected to a specified wind force to separate dust, which is then collected, weighed, and the dust content in the test specimen is calculated.

A.2 Instruments and equipment

A.2.1 Dust tester, schematic diagram shown in Figure A.1, mainly includes the following components:

- air outlet, inner diameter (20.0 ± 0.5) mm, wind speed (9 ± 1) m/s;

- lower test chamber, chamber dimensions (300 ± 2) mm × (300 ± 2) mm × (300 ± 2) mm, bottom is arc structure;

- lower dust outlet, dimensions (250 ± 2) mm × (250 ± 2) mm, metal mesh, mesh count 100;

- dust shield opening of upper test chamber, dimensions (560 ± 5) mm × (600 ± 5) mm, nylon mesh, mesh count 400;

- dust shield, aluminum alloy material, thickness approximately 3 mm, length approximately 595 mm, width approximately 590 mm. […]