OUR VISION
To be the most innovative, ethical and sustainable solution for your bulk down needs.
Sustainable Down Source is the natural extension of a 100-year-old, family-owned down and feather business.
Originating in Eastern Europe, the family immigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1951 with few resources but a lot of resourcefulness, and re-established the business as Midwest Feather and Down, a company and foundation that has evolved through several subsequent generations.
An offshoot of the original family business, Ohio Feather Company was founded in 1984 with a focus on service to the Cushion and Furniture industry. Today, the Ohio Feather Company is still a leading supplier of feather and down to Furniture and Home Textiles industries, as well as a fully vertical bulk down and feather processing facility in Cincinnati, Ohio.
With the support of Ohio Feather Company, Daniel Guigui started Down Decor in 1994. Initially supplying feather pillow inserts to the wholesale, fashion, and design industries, Down Decor evolved over the course of 10 years into a leading supplier of utility bedding to retail, catalog, luxury linen, and hospitality markets.
In 2005 Andy Payne, a 15-year veteran in the home textiles and bulk down industries, partnered with Daniel at Down Decor, and together over the next 5 years transformed the company into a leading bulk down supplier to the home textiles, fashion, and outdoor industries.
At the January 2012 Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, after two years of intensive research and development, Down Decor introduced the revolutionary DownTek™ Water Repellent Down. The unique insulting power of down is what makes it a coveted ingredient in jackets and sleeping bags, but the one drawback is that exposure to moisture renders the down clusters incapable of trapping warm air. DownTek™ changed that, and by consequence, set a new standard for nature’s best insulator.
From the beginning Down Decor realized the importance of clean chemistry and DownTek was developed with no long-chain carbons, instead using a C6 short-chain carbon. By 2014, the outdoor, fashion, and home textiles industries were making a clear shift towards more sustainable business practices, including greater focus on chemicals management, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility. While C6 DWR is still considered safe for use, Down Decor developed DownTek PFC-Free™ a carbon-free DWR option.
Largely thanks to the recognition and renown of DownTek ™ and DownTek PFC-Free™, the bulk down division of Down Decor became an entity all its own, rendering the natural transition to Sustainable Down Source. While still in close connection with Down Decor - including shared headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio - SDS now serves solely as a bulk down supplier of regular down, DownTek™, and DownTek PFC-Free™ to the outdoor, fashion, and home textiles industries.