Down and Feather - What's the Difference?

Hi Heather, Our pillows don’t come with any covers. We do sell pillowcases separately though! You can find them in the Covers section. We don’t currently carry pillow protectors – hopefully soon. You’ll have to source those elsewhere for now, but most major retailers carry them.

Hi Nicole, You’re right that fluffy and cool don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand. For a duvet that’s not too warm, you’ll want to go with something in Summer Weight. These will be thinner, flatter-style duvets. Down is a pretty powerful insulator, and the more fill we add, the fluffier and warmer it becomes! We offer 4 duvets in Summer Weight, which you can see by using the filters in the Duvets collection. The duvets with the lowest loft (pink White Down Duvet and blue White Goose Down Duvet) will be the fluffiest. The lower the loft, the less insulating the down is, and therefore the more fill we can add for the same warmth.

You might consider looking at a different type of duvet altogether if the fluffiness is really important to you!

Hi Maria, While none of our pillows are ‘cooling’, they shouldn’t really give off much heat or get too hot. Down and feather are more breathable materials and therefore, you may find them more comfortable than synthetic microfiber.

Hi Eileen, The least warm weight we offer is Summer Weight! There are 4 duvets that come in Summer Weight – see the product comparison chart for guidance!

Hi Linda,

Any of our down pillows are very soft, sinky, and malleable. If you don’t want too much puffiness, you may want to go with Medium. It sounds like you need a bit of gentle cradling, so I wouldn’t go with Soft, which is a flatter style pillow. Down pillows are soft and squishy in nature. Just steer clear of polyester or feather if you don’t want too much height or firmness!

Hi Glenda, It’s impossible to achieve 100% down, 0% feather with certainty in commercial applications. You would have to hand select and separate every single down cluster, which is nearly impossible! In Canada, the threshold is 75%. If a product is labelled as down, it must have a minimum of 75% down cluster. The remaining material could be down filament, feather filament, or feathers. The higher the loft, the higher the down cluster percentage tends to be, but it’s not an exact science – it’s a natural material with natural variance, but you can be assured that it is at least 75% down cluster.

That being said, you’re not going to feel feather quills in there. For all intents and purposes, it feels like an ‘all down’ product. All of the material we use is rendered hypoallergenic through the cleaning process, so most allergy sufferers can use any of our products without issue!

Hi Krista, I’m afraid it doesn’t. We don’t feel that customers would be happy with the product. The reason is that the Hutterite down is very high loft and therefore has robust insulating properties. Just a little bit of this down goes a long way in terms of warmth. In order to create a summer weight with high loft down, we wouldn’t be able to fill it much and it would look and feel very flat. Although it’s possible to achieve the warmth level, it would be almost empty and not feel very luxurious. I will take this to our team though. If enough people are asking, we will definitely consider it!!

Hi Chris, We don’t list gsm, but you should be able to do the calculation. If you click on Dimensions & Fill Weights (under the images on the product page), you’ll see all sizes and fill weights. Just convert inches to meters and calculate the square meters. Then convert ounces to grams. And then divide the grams by the square meters! If you’re looking for something plush, you’ll want to opt for a down alternative poly bed. Feathers have quills, and therefore create more of a firm topper, so if you already have a firm mattress, I would not opt for the feather bed. We have 2 down alternative poly beds that are almost the exact same except for the thread count! I hope this helps!

Hi Pam, You can find delivery timelines on our Shipping Information page! This year, our holiday order cut-off date is December 17th. Order before then, and your items should arrive before Christmas (barring any unforeseen carrier delays, of course).

Hi Caitlin, The 850 Loft duvet is filled with down, yes! If you’re wondering if we mix feather or polyester in, the answer is no. But it’s actually illegal to advertise any down product as ‘all down’, ‘pure down’ or ‘100% down’, because it’s impossible to achieve! In order to label a product as ‘down’, it needs to contain a minimum of 75% down clusters. The higher the loft, the higher that percentage of down clusters tends to go. Although it’s not an exact science, and each batch of down is not the exact same, our 850 Loft goose down tends to be closer to 90% down cluster. I hope this helps!

Hi Maureen, We do have a goose down and feather duvet, although I'm wondering if your duvet is not a down and feather blend if it is very light. If you’re looking to match your Pacific Coast duvet as closely as possible, we would need some more information, including fill weight, fill type, thread count, and any other details you can find. If you can email us a photo of the labels, that might help give us some clues!

Hi Ganomia, Thanks so much for your inquiry! I’m afraid we’re not able to provide this service. We only use new material, and for cleanliness reasons, we’re not able to put used material through our machines. There may be someone out there who can help you with this, although I’m not sure who. However, I would expect that the amount you would pay for a custom job like this would be as much or more than a new feather duvet – feather duvets are relatively inexpensive!

Hi Kenneth, DNA testing isn’t necessary. Different species have different identifying features on their down and feathers. You simply need to look at a sample of the material under a microscope or similar machine to see those features. We are IDS and RDS Certified, which (among other things) means our down and feather is tested for species by a 3rd party (IDFL), is traceable throughout our supply chain, and is compliant with all labelling standards and regulations. So there’s no need for you to test on your own, but if you wanted to, I’m sure you could through IDFL for a couple hundred bucks!

Hi Danny, Certainly, we will give you a call shortly! In future, the best way to get in queue for a call back is to fill out the Request a Call form on our Contact Us page or send us an email. We have a small team, so if we get a large volume of calls, we may need to give you a ring back later.

Hi Susan, If you’re on a product page, click Dimensions & Fill Weights to see all of the weights listed. Alternatively, when you select each size and weight combination, you'll see the fill weight auto-update. As a general rule, the lower the loft, the heavier the fill weight. This is because we need more fill to make up for the lower loft (small clusters).

Hi Patricia, Side sleepers typically need a fair amount of support to fill the space between the shoulder and the head to keep the head, neck and spine evenly aligned. The most popular pillow for side sleepers is the Down Perfect Pillow. It contains mostly feather, which provides great support due to the springy feather quills. The feather is surrounded by soft down, which creates a comfortable buffer against the feather. Pain and soreness can be caused by using a pillow that is the wrong support level for you. It's not possible for us to say the exact support level that you need. It depends on your unique needs and preferences, body size and shape, mattress support, etc. But we can make some recommendations based on general rules of thumb and what works for most people. Ultimately, if you purchase one of our pillows and find that it's not quite right, we can add or remove fill for you to change the support level.

Hi Shiv, Great question! All of the down and feather we use is by-product of the meat industry that would otherwise go to the landfill. The down and feather is collected post-mortem – no live plucking, molt-harvesting, etc. Actually, the demand for meat is much higher than the demand for down and feather. You can read more about our commitment to ethical sourcing here: https://www.canadiandownandfeather.com/pages/our-commitment . I hope this helps!

Hi Krista, the White Down Duvet is filled with duck down. You can compare all of our products by species on the Product Comparison Chart.

Hi Kim, for a fluffy, warm duvet, I recommend one of our down duvets in All Season Weight. Down is light, soft and fluffy. All Season Weight duvets are perfect for cold sleepers and room temps around 16-18C. We do have a couple of duvets in Winter Weight, which are even warmer, but too warm for most people. You can see which duvets are filled with down on the Product Comparison Chart. We have several options. You'll just need to decide how much you're looking to spend on loft (down quality) and thread count (fabric softness), and if you're looking to pay a premium for goose down.

Hi Domanique, Without knowing too many details, I’d recommend the Down Perfect Pillow in Medium. The feather in the middle provides great support, while the down in the outer chambers provides softness. The Medium weight should provide enough support for side sleeping, but not so much support that you’ll be uncomfortable on your stomach. We can always work with you to adjust the pillow by adding or removing fill after you’ve tried it out! I hope this helps :)

Hi Anne,

You’re absolutely right! Our heaviest duvets are White Goose Feather, Microfiber and Gel Microfiber. Perfect for those that like a weighty blanket! :)

Hi Carryl,

That depends on the product! This information is included in each product description on the product page. For example, our White Goose Feather Duvet is filled with imported feather, where our Hutterite Goose Down Duvet is filled with down farmed by the Hutterites in Alberta, Canada. Our imported material comes from a variety of suppliers across Europe, Asia and the US.

Hi Jacquie, Thank you so much for asking! All of the down and feather we use is a by-product of the meat industry, collected post-mortem, that would otherwise go to the landfill. We have zero tolerance for live-plucking as well as other inhumane practices, such as force-feeding, over-crowding and neglect. You can read more about our IDS and RDS Certifications which cover animal welfare and traceability through our supply chain.

Hi Lynn,

Any of our down pillows should work for front sleepers. You can find which pillows are filled with down on the Product Comparison Chart. It’s important that front sleepers don’t use too firm a pillow, which is why soft and sinky down pillows fit the bill. If you sleep only on your front, you may want the Soft version, which is quite flat and minimally supportive. If you sleep occasionally on your side or back as well, Medium might be better! I hope this helps! :)

Hi Tom, Great question! While it is normal to see the occasional feather or piece of down come out, down and feather should not leak out. The fabric of the shell must be 233 thread count or higher to retain down and feather, and you’ll notice we don’t use fabric under 233 TC. Feather products need to be paired with thread counts on the lower end, which are durable enough to stand up to the feather quills. That being said, if you do find an unexpected amount of down or feather is leaking out, please let us know, as this may qualify for repair or replacement under warranty.

Hi Jennifer,

Thanks so much for your comment. Generally, side sleepers need a lot of support. I would recommend the Down Perfect Pillow in Medium. It has a feather core which provides great support, surrounded by soft down. The Medium version should provide enough support for side sleeping, but shouldn’t be too firm for back sleeping. I hope this helps!

Hi Audrey,

I’m so sorry to hear about your injury. We do have sales and promotions from time to time. If you're interested, sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of the homepage to stay up-to-date on the latest sales. We have contests on social media very occasionally. Give us a follow if you'd like to participate! The voucher number refers to Groupon vouchers. We no longer sell on Groupon but our products are carried on several other retailers and marketplaces.