,Bhaya, the first principle of business. Sell the goods that the customers want. Who will buy stale, rotten, rotten goods? If you sell ice in winter, who will buy it? The new generation also has the same account. Woolen and khadi clothes do not suit them. Then what is the benefit of keeping it? If you want to fill your wallet with money then keep some new items. Gone are the days of jersey, sweater, shawl. Now is the era of bomber, puffer and down jacket.” This statement of a Gujarati shopkeeper in Katran Market in outer Delhi suddenly caught my attention.
The winter season has arrived. After the rain, the temperature in Delhi-NCR has also dropped. The cold wind is pricking the body like a needle. Therefore, the business of warm clothes is brisk in the market. In this also the segment of bomber, puffer or down jacket is quite in trend. The customer is ready to pay any price for this. The better the quality, the higher the price.
I also went to a shop to buy a jacket and asked, ‘Will you get a down jacket?’
Shopkeeper: Yes, you will get it. We have 15 colors in each size. There is a lot of demand for it in this winter season. In this both style and comfort are guaranteed. They are just a little expensive.
As soon as the shopkeeper said this, the down jacket arrived on the counter. A puffy jacket. As if someone had filled a polyester or linen cloth with air. Looks stylish and weighs as light as paper.
As soon as I got it in my hands I asked why is it called a down jacket?
Shopkeeper: There are bird feathers inside this jacket. Which keeps the body warm even in extreme cold. These feathers are called down. Wear this and go to Kashmir, Shimla, Ladakh. Or Everest. The icy wind won’t even touch.
My mind became numb after hearing the feather thing. The light material inside the jacket, which I thought was cotton or air, was actually feathers of a bird.
I asked which bird’s feather?
Shopkeeper- Duck. Its feathers are called down or duck down.
Is this original? I mean, isn’t it a lie that it has bird wings?
Shopkeeper- Bhaisaab, there is a tag on the inside of the jacket, which guarantees the material present in it.
To reassure me, he even showed me a tiny feather from a corner of his jacket. Then smilingly he said – We do not do number two work. If someone can prove that it does not contain duck feathers, I will give the jacket away for free.
From where do you get its supply?
Shopkeeper- We get his goods from wholesale. Tank Road and Gandhinagar Market are its main bases in Delhi. Most of this type of goods is being supplied from China.
How much is a down jacket available?
Shopkeeper- You may have to pay Rs 10,000 to lakhs for this in branded stores like Nike and Adidas. But we will get it for only three-four thousand rupees.
My eyes remained fixed on the jacket till the shopkeeper finished talking. The clothes in the market are being traded for thousands and lakhs. Who is really paying the price?
What does PETA’s report say?
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), an NGO that raises its voice against the unethical treatment of animals, has exposed the truth of the black business of the down industry. In one of its reports, the entire story of torture of helpless birds for profit is recorded.
According to the report, a soft layer of feathers on the chest of birds is called down. Down is as valuable as gold for the garment manufacturing industry. Ducks and swans are mainly hunted for such feathers. The process of removing down or feathers from the chest of birds is also very painful.
Usually, after killing birds, feathers are taken out from their bodies. So many times feathers are plucked from the body of a live bird. So that wings can be taken from them again and again. In this way, this process of giving pain and suffering to the duck or swan continues for months and years.
violence against birds for profit
According to PETA, these birds are picked up by the neck or delicate feathers. The toes are pressed under the feet. Or tied with a rope. After this the chest feathers are brutally plucked. Many times the chest flesh gets torn during this process. When this happens, the worker plucking the feathers stitches the wound with a needle and thread. Here the bird writhing in pain has no way to escape.
Not only this, under the pressure of preparing the swan or duck for down quickly, they are tortured a lot. A tube is inserted into their throat and maize grains are forcibly filled into their stomach, due to which their liver becomes ten times larger than its normal size.
A bird of about two and a half months is considered good for down. This is repeated at intervals of six weeks until the birds are killed for meat. Or they do not die a natural death. PETA says that buying products from the down industry is supporting animal cruelty.
How to make a stylish down jacket?
We understood the production of stylish jackets made of duck down and its huge demand in the country and abroad from science educator Neha Talwar. He told that to make a jacket, the garment manufacturing company first separates feathers and down from feathers. Down and feathers both are part of the bird. Small feathers are down very close to the skin and feathers cover it.
To separate these two, many fans are inserted in an air chamber. Then air pressure is given from below, due to which the wings start flying in the chamber. As soon as the air pressure stops, the heavy feather settles down and the down, being lighter, remains on top. After removing the down, it is sent for designing along with fabrics like polyester or linen. And in this way a stylish down jacket is ready. The brand named ‘The Northface’ in America and ‘Kathmandu’ in New Zealand is quite famous for making down jackets.
Why is the craze for down jackets increasing?
Neha Talwar told that down is an air insulator, which helps birds keep their body warm. This is the reason why jackets, mattresses or bed covers made of down are very much liked in the market. Down can be either gray or white. Its color depends on the age of the bird and the season of down removal. However its color does not affect its insulating ability.
The need for down jacket is felt more in such countries where the temperature goes up to minus degree temperature. Its demand is very high in countries like New Zealand, Canada, America, Australia, China, Hungary and Vietnam. The temperature does not fall that much in most parts of India. Therefore, there is no special need for a down jacket here. Instead, giving preference to synthetic jackets or woolen clothes is a better option.