"Geese and ducks endure endless suffering at the hands of the down industry. Down, the delicate feathers closest to the bird’s skin, is often painfully plucked from geese and ducks while they are still alive. Other times, down is removed from the birds after they have been brutally slaughtered. Regardless of the point of removal, plucking down causes these gentle creatures unnecessary pain and suffering.
Live-plucking—tearing the feathers off of a living bird—of down is illegal in the United States and Europe, but the practice continues in China and other parts of the world. It is clear that the U.S. government finds live-plucking so appalling that it was declared to be against the law, so why is lululemon, a Canadian company that sells massive amounts of clothing in the States, being vague about the way that it sources its feathers?
Several synthetic fabrics exist that provide warmth and comfort to people without causing horrific pain to birds. We must demand that lululemon CEO Laurent Potdevin explore down alternatives and immediately stop selling cruel down jackets."
