A major outdoor clothing brand has been using down from force-fed geese to fill its quilted winter jackets, it has emerged.
The North Face, an American company whose outdoor clothing is worn by the likes of Barack Obama, Angelina Jolie, Sharon Stone and Elle Macpherson as well by numerous BBC reporters, has been found to use down from Hungarian geese farmed for foie gras.
Despite the company assuring customers in the past that the down used in their jackets would never come from a force-fed goose,canada goose jackets animal rights campaigners found that the down came from Hungarian farms where geese are fattened using the force-feeding method to make foie gras from their bloated livers.
The technique used to artificially fatten the geese means that for three weeks, the birds have a metal funnel inserted into their throats down which grain is poured, far in excess of the quantity a goose would normally consume.
As a result, their livers swell. The resulting organ is harvested and sold to upmarket stores and restaurants.
The sale of foie gras is banned from many UK supermarkets and department stores, all of whom
Cold weather gear: BBC news reader Evan Davis wears a North Face jacket to report from Switzerland
But while many North Face fans who buy the brand's quilted jackets would not dream of eating foie gras, they are unwittingly supporting the trade by wearing feathers acquired from farms who use the intense feeding method.
Previously the company, which reports annual sales in excess of 900m, had claimed in its literature that the feathers used in The North Face products were taken from 'the very best source - small family-owned farms in Hungary.'
A 2010 brochure issued by the firm stipulated its animal welfare standards - and specifically mentions that the brand would not use goose down from a supplier that force-fed geese.
It said: 'We use only the finest grades of grey goose down from the very best
source — small family owned farms in Hungary.
'At no time are the geese live-plucked for their down. Along with banning live-plucking, force feeding - for foie gras - has been banned in the supply chain of The North Face down material for many years.'
With a very different story emerging, many North Face buyers will undoubtedly be rethinking their position.
One, 33-year-old Jane Daley, said she would now feel uncomfortable wearing the down ski jacket she bought from The North Face last year.
'It has left an unpleasant taste in my mouth, there's no doubt about that. I am passionate about animal welfare and have never touched foie gras. To think I've been wearing a jacket filled with the down of a force-fed goose horrifies me.
The North Face, an American company whose outdoor clothing is worn by the likes of Barack Obama, Angelina Jolie, Sharon Stone and Elle Macpherson as well by numerous BBC reporters, has been found to use down from Hungarian geese farmed for foie gras.
Despite the company assuring customers in the past that the down used in their jackets would never come from a force-fed goose,canada goose jackets animal rights campaigners found that the down came from Hungarian farms where geese are fattened using the force-feeding method to make foie gras from their bloated livers.
The technique used to artificially fatten the geese means that for three weeks, the birds have a metal funnel inserted into their throats down which grain is poured, far in excess of the quantity a goose would normally consume.
As a result, their livers swell. The resulting organ is harvested and sold to upmarket stores and restaurants.
The sale of foie gras is banned from many UK supermarkets and department stores, all of whom
Cold weather gear: BBC news reader Evan Davis wears a North Face jacket to report from Switzerland
But while many North Face fans who buy the brand's quilted jackets would not dream of eating foie gras, they are unwittingly supporting the trade by wearing feathers acquired from farms who use the intense feeding method.
Previously the company, which reports annual sales in excess of 900m, had claimed in its literature that the feathers used in The North Face products were taken from 'the very best source - small family-owned farms in Hungary.'
A 2010 brochure issued by the firm stipulated its animal welfare standards - and specifically mentions that the brand would not use goose down from a supplier that force-fed geese.
It said: 'We use only the finest grades of grey goose down from the very best
source — small family owned farms in Hungary.
'At no time are the geese live-plucked for their down. Along with banning live-plucking, force feeding - for foie gras - has been banned in the supply chain of The North Face down material for many years.'
With a very different story emerging, many North Face buyers will undoubtedly be rethinking their position.
One, 33-year-old Jane Daley, said she would now feel uncomfortable wearing the down ski jacket she bought from The North Face last year.
'It has left an unpleasant taste in my mouth, there's no doubt about that. I am passionate about animal welfare and have never touched foie gras. To think I've been wearing a jacket filled with the down of a force-fed goose horrifies me.
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