SG 062/26
China issues an updated version of its national standard GB/T 17685-2026 – Down and feather.
The Standardization Administration of China has issued the national standard GB/T 17685-2026 Down and Feather through Announcement No. 9 of 2026. This new standard will take effect on September 1, 2026, replacing the previous version GB/T 17685-2016.
Scope
This document applies to the production, inspection and sale of down and feather. Fillings for down and feather products shall be implemented by reference, unless otherwise specified in relevant product standards. It does not apply to products made of mixed down and feather and/or other fibers.
Terms and definitions
- Pre-washed down and feather:
Down and feather shed from waterfowl that have only undergone preliminary washing and drying and cannot be directly used for filling products
- Fine washed down and feather
Down and feather that have been processed through pre-separation, fine washing, high-temperature drying, fine separation and other treatments, and are used for filling products
- Virgin down and feather
Fine washed down and feather made from raw materials collected from the slaughter of waterfowl such as geese and ducks or naturally shed from waterfowl, processed and used for filling products for the first time.
- Reclaimed down and feather
Down and feather obtained by dismantling effectively traceable used down and feather materials, removing impurities from the filling and requiring further processing
- Recycled down and feather
Fine washed down and feather produced by reprocessing reclaimed down and feather through washing, high-temperature drying, fine separation and other processes, for reuse as filling materials
Requirements
The requirements consist of three parts, namely General Requirements (GB/T 17685-2016, Clause 5.1), Pre-washed down and feather (GB/T 17685-2016, Clause 5.2) and Fine washed down and feather (GB/T 17685-2016, Clause 5.3).
Main technical changes
Compared with GB/T 17685-2016, the main technical changes in the new standard are as follows:
Additions:
- Terms and definitions for ‘pre-washed down and feather’, ‘fine washed down and feather’, ‘virgin down and feather’, ‘reclaimed down and feather’, ‘recycled down and feather’, ‘waterfowl feather’, ‘dust’, ‘moisture content’
- Product classification
- General requirements
- Quality requirements for pre-washed down and feather
- Test method for composition analysis of recycled down and feather
- Test method for alkylphenols (AP) and alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEO)
- Test method for dust content
Revisions:
- Scope of application
- Terms and definitions for ‘down and feather’, ‘down’, ‘land fowl feather’, ‘down fiber’, ‘residue’, ‘colored down and feather’, ‘filling power’, ‘turbidity’, ‘fat and oil content’
- Terms and definitions of ‘down cluster’, ‘plumule’, ‘nestling down’, ‘damaged down’, ‘feather ‘, ‘quill feather ‘, ‘long feather ‘, ‘nestling feather’, ‘damaged feather’ are converted into explanatory notes
- Quality requirements for refined washed down and feather, with separate provisions for quality requirements of virgin down and feather (mandatory test items), quality requirements of virgin down and feather (reference items), and quality requirements of recycled down and feather
- Judgment rules
- Labelling requirements
- Transportation and storage requirements
Details of the Technical Content
For more information, please refer to the China National Standard GB/T 17685-2026 Down and feather. or contact SGS directly.
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