Ethics and origin

As a Finnish manufacturer, the high quality and ethical production of our products is paramount to us.

We only use down that is the by-product of meat production. Joutsen has utmost respect for animal welfare. We have never used and will not accept plucking from living birds. Joutsen is a member of the European Down and Feather Association EDFA, which forbids all members from using down and feathers plucked from live birds.

As experts in down refining, we always know the exact origin of our down and feathers. With our decades of experience, we have established solid relationships with our selected European partner farms – so we never acquire down from anyone we do not know. Therefore, all the down used in our products comes from farms which provide good, natural living conditions – this is the only way to produce high-quality down. We personally perform regular inspections in order to monitor our partners’ production processes as well as the farms in which the birds are grown.

All of our down comes from EU countries. Our duck and goose down are sourced from France, Poland, Spain and Finland. Our eiderdown collected from the Finnish archipelago after the nesting season, is used only for the most luxurious bedding. The origin of the down can be traced based on the batch number of each batch. The entire process, from growing the birds for the production of food to harvesting the down as the by-product of the food production, takes place in accordance with the applicable EU regulations and legislation.

The Finnish textile manufacturing industry has been on the decline, but in 2015, Joutsen built a new factory in Riihimäki, where bedding products are now being produced. Down coats are manufactured by our professionals in our modern factory in Estonia. When necessary, we use subcontractors in China for sewing. The family-owned factories of our subcontractors are always inspected on site to ensure the quality of both the work and the working conditions. Our need for the subcontracted work is determined by the required capacity. The products are pre-examined during personal visits to the production facilities prior to sending them to Finland, where the coats are then finished and packed. 

The share of coats with fur trims is small, and the fur used is sourced from Finland. In the future, we aim to replace real fur with alternative materials and solutions.