There are many advantages to sleeping under a duvet with natural rather than synthetic filling. The following points are to help you make the best choice for you:

The Difference between a Down and a Feather Filled Duvet

Feathers are larger and coarser than the soft down that comes from the breast of either duck or goose. This makes down duvets are significantly lighter than feather duvets. For those that suffer from allergies, feather duvets have a higher chance of bed mites. The reason for this is that the mites can make their home in the shafts of the feathers whereas there are less hiding places in down.

The Difference between Duck Down and Goose Down

Ducks are smaller than geese as birds. The area where they grow down (across their chest) is therefore smaller so the down does not have to be so efficient at keeping the bird warm as it is a smaller area. Geese on the other hand are bigger and have a larger chest area to keep warm.

How can you tell how Warm a Duvet will be?

All duvets are rated for warmth using a Tog measurement. The Tog is the unit of measure of the thermal resistance of a unit area and most commonly used for bedding products like duvets, comforters etc. as well as outdoor clothing.

The measurement of warmth of duvet in the form of tog units is also called the duvet rating. The higher the duvet rating means the higher the tog value and hence the warmer a duvet will feel and vice versa.

What is the Best Material a Duvet should be made of?

The absolute best is good old natural pure cotton. Unlike some synthetic fabrics, cotton has the advantage of being cool in the summer and does not cause perspiration. Cotton itself comes in different grades. One of the ways of measuring the quality is something called thread count. This is the number of cotton threads per cm². The higher the number the more densely woven the cotton fabric will be. Not only will the fabric last longer and stop feather and down slipping out, high thread counts can also protect you from dust mite allergies because it is more difficult for them to get through into the duvet to make their home (Horrible but true – it really does happen).

Was the Filling Ethically Sourced?

Some suppliers will take feather and down from living birds and continue to keep the birds alive so that they grow more down and feathers. This is not only really cruel but also reduces the quality of the feathers and down that has been harvested.