Track my Down is a site which allows people who have purchased a down product which is part of the scheme.
Down is made up of breast feathers from a range of birds - including ducks and geese, and used to line nests to insulate the eggs, particular in areas where the temperatures are cold and the egg would otherwise risk becoming too cold, and failing to hatch.
Eider is collected on the Icelandic island of Vigur. The farmers on this, and other locations have a special relationship with the birds for mutual benefit.
There was an article about the process in a recent 'Geographical' magazine. This was written by explorer Felicity Aston, who lives on the island with her family, alongside other expedition and speaking work, and writing.
She describes the piece on her own website.
As the website says:
There are records of down being traded as an insulation as far back as the early 1600s.And long before that, the down and feather waste of birds used for food was utilized to create warm and comfortable bedding.The modern down supply chain has historically been extremely opaque, comprised of a network of brokers who aggregated material from slaughterhouse groups and sold on an open market with almost no visibility to the farms the birds were raised on.
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