According to Daniel Uretsky, the president of ALLIED Feather + Down, “The Responsible Down Standard (RDS) was created out of the necessity for an industry-wide standard for ethically sourced down. The goal of the standard is to provide a mark that gives peace of mind to potential buyers.”  “We helped found that standard because we wanted to hold ourselves accountable,” The North Face’s Akita adds. With the RDS standard, we know animals are treated humanely and there is no live-plucking. The other most common down standard is the Global Traceable Down Standard (GTDS), which provides assurance that down was harvested without unnecessary pain or harm to the geese or ducks, and that the down is traceable. Both RDS and GTDS assume animal welfare including for birds being raised for food—most down is a by-product of the food industry.