One thing I've learned today

One day, long ago I owned an expensive down comforter.  I think down comforters are like new cars–they lose value the minute you drive them off the dealership lot.  Honestly, who would want your used down comforter?

But let’s examine what down really is.  It is the fine feathers found under exterior feathers on a handful of birds.  The most common type being geese.  Today, down feathers are commonly used in the manufacturing of blankets, pillows, and jackets.  The harvesting of said down feathers is not so nice.  [If I were an elf in Santa's workshop I would make sure down feather harvesters were on the naughty list indefinitely!]  Because much down is live-plucked from birds’ breasts-ouch.  According to various PETA sources, geese in these factory farms can suffer live-plucking three or four times in their short life span and then be slaughtered for their meat before winter because “cost accountants say it is more expensive to heat the sheds than the feathers are worth.”  Talk about cold and heartless!

Bounce, tumble, bounce, tumble!

Ok, but back to the balls for a moment.  Down is a little finicky to care for, as is true with many expensive materials and materials that happen to be taken unnaturally.  When wet, down loses all its insulatory properties–clumping together much like a wet dog.  To achieve the store-bought fluffiness it is recommended to throw a few tennis balls in the dryer with your jacket or pillow, etc.  This is supposed to more evenly disperse the feathers as they dry, preventing feather clump.

However, you can still have fun with tennis balls bouncing in your dryer if you own synthetic down products.  Synthetic fills have progressed a long way to offer comparable warmth and fluffiness without the cruelty, price tag, or allergies.  So this Christmas consider hypoallergenic, synthetic alternatives to your down apparel and linen gifts and with your savings you can throw in a couple cans of tennis balls!

40-Luv.  Geese-factory farm.