The revisions to the Chinese standard focus mostly on down and feather penetration, dust problems and odour. There will also be some changes to the technical requirements of testing methods. These changes will help to improve the quality of down and feather products.
Consumer's interest in product health and safety increases day by day. The requirements for down and feathers used as raw materials in finished products, sold in domestic and international markets, have become more and more strict. There have also been changes to international detection technology and methods. This has meant, the requirements in the existing national standard GB/T 17685-2003<Down and feather> have become unrealistic for practical production requirements and the market demand.
China has now revised its national standard for down and feather to harmonize with international standards. The revised standard will help to protect the rights of online consumers, the interests of manufacturing companies, keep fair market competition and provide a solid foundation for management, production and trading. The revised standard GB/T 17685-2016<Down and Feather> will go into effect on July 1, 2017 and will replace GB/T 17685-2003<Down and Feather>. Significant technical updates are summarized in Table 1&2 below.
Table 1 Quality Requirements for Down and Feather
| Claimed down contenta % | Tolerances of down content % ≤ | Down fiber+ feather fiber % ≤ | Waterfowl damaged feather % ≤ | Landfowl feather % ≤ | Long feather % ≤ | Residue % ≤ | Filling power cm ≥ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duck | Goose | |||||||
| Pure feather | --- | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 10.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 7.5 |
| 5 | -1.0 | 10.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 7.5 | 8.5 |
| 10 | -2.0 | 10.0 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 8.5 | 9.5 |
| 20 | -2.0 | 10.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 9.0 | 10.0 |
| 30 | -2.0 | 10.0 | 5.0 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 9.5 | 10.5 |
| 40 | -2.0 | 10.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 10.5 | 11.5 |
| 50 | -3.0 | 10.0 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 11.5 | 12.5 |
| 60 | -3.0 | 10.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 12.5 | 13.5 |
| 70 | -3.0 | 10.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 13.5 | 14.5 |
| 75 | -3.0 | 10.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 14.0 | 15.0 |
| 80 | -3.0 | 10.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 14.5 | 15.5 |
| 85 | -3.0 | 10.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 15.5 | 16.5 |
| 90 | -3.0 | 10.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 16.0 | 17.0 |
| 95 | -3.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 16.5 | 17.5 |
| a Claimed down content shall identify the feather species and down species when the claimed down content of goose down and feather is ＜80%, and it shall only identify down species when the claimed down content of goose down is ≥80% . | ||||||||
Table 2 Quality Requirements for Down and Feather
| Claimed down content % | Oxygen number mg/100mg ≤ | Turbidity mm ≥ | Fat and oil content % ≤ | Goose down and feather contentb % ≥ | Odour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pure feather | 5.6 | 500 | 1.2 | 85.0 | PASS |
| 5 | |||||
| 10 | |||||
| 20 | |||||
| 30 | |||||
| 40 | |||||
| 50 | |||||
| 60 | |||||
| 70 | |||||
| 75 | |||||
| 80 | |||||
| 85 | |||||
| 90 | |||||
| 95 | |||||
| b Goose down and feather content shall identify the feather species and down species when the claimed down is goose down and feather. After the down and feather content analysis test has been completed and the identification of the down and feather species have been identified, the final goose down and feather content shall be ≥85%. If only the species of down and feather have been tested, the classified goose feather content and goose down content shall be ≥85%separately. If only the down species has been tested, the classified goose down content shall be ≥85%. It may not be identified "down species" when the claimed down is duck down and feather. | |||||
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