6 pitfalls when buying duvets & pillows

When buying duvets and pillows, too, there are various pitfalls you can avoid. We show you what they are and how to recognise them.

100% down – or not?

When a "high-quality down duvet" is mentioned, the trained eye quickly notices that one piece of information is missing. What percentage of high-quality down is it exactly? Where this information is missing, often only around 50–80% pure down is used and the rest is simply topped up with feathers. This is very often the case with lower-priced suppliers in particular.

Believing you have bought a very high-quality duvet, you will notice the difference after the first few nights at the latest.

So always look for the percentage in the description. And if it isn't stated, ask customer support what the proportion of down in the duvet really is.
For a pillow, it is perfectly fine to use feathers for better support.

The weight of down/feathers per square metre

Another detail that tends to be noticed by experienced buyers of duvets and pillows: how many grams of down per square metre are used in the duvet? The density of the down largely determines how warm it gets under your duvet. An all-season duvet in particular should not have less than 200 grams of down per square metre, so that it doesn't get too cold in winter.

New vs. old down/feathers

A small but important difference that few people have in mind when buying a duvet is whether the down/feathers are new or old, i.e. used. Some manufacturers in the lower price segment mix used feathers in with the new ones to reach the required weight. It's comparable to a toothbrush: an older toothbrush usually still works, just not as well as a new one. For reasons of hygiene, too, it is better not to use second-hand down/feathers.

Not all down is the same – duck vs. goose

Even if the product description speaks of high-quality down, that doesn't necessarily mean the down really is of high quality. There is a difference in quality between the down and feathers of ducks and those of geese. Goose down is usually stronger and larger than duck down and therefore more stable. The reason is fairly simple: geese are larger and live longer.

So if you want the better product, check that the description refers to goose down and not to duck down or simply "down". Cottonbabe uses white goose down.

Origin & animal welfare

Not every supplier discloses where feathers and down come from. Their origin is not always clear, and there is little transparency across the entire supply chain.

So unless it is explicitly ruled out in the product description, the feathers and down may have been plucked from live animals. At Cottonbabe, you can be sure that we do not allow any live plucking of our down and feathers.

Conclusion

When buying, look for clear information: proportion of down in percent, fill weight per square metre, new down, goose rather than duck down, and proof that no live plucking takes place. At Cottonbabe, you will find this information in our product descriptions.