Organization:International Down and Feather Testing Laboratory

International Down and Feather Testing Laboratory

Established	1978
Research type	Unclassified
Field of research	Down and feathers
Staff	100
Location	Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Website	Official website

IDFL Laboratory and Institute, originally known as the International Down and Feather Testing Laboratory, is a down and feather testing laboratory located in Salt Lake City, Utah. IDFL provides testing services for filled textiles containing materials such as down, feathers, synthetics, and other natural fibers. The company also offers audit and inspection services for the textile industry.

IDFL has testing laboratories and offices in the United States , Switzerland , Taiwan and China . The company employs over 150 people, many working as testing analysts. IDFL's laboratories are certified by organizations such as the IDFB, EDFA, and DPSC. The company conducts testing according to standards established by textile industry organizations like AATCC, ADFC, ASTM, CFDIA, DAC, EDFA, IABFLO, IDFB, and TDFA.

History

Wilford Lieber Sr. and his wife, Mary Jean, founded IDFL in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1978. Lieber had previously worked for the state of Utah in product regulation and at the request of companies in the down and feather industry, Lieber formed IDFL, a laboratory that tested down and feather quality.

Salt Lake City Headquarters of International Down and Feather Testing Laboratory

Wilf Lieber Jr. is the current CEO of IDFL Laboratory and Institute and serves as associate member of many organizations including the IDFB, ADFC, EDFA and CFDIA

Since its founding, IDFL has continually expanded the services it provides. In the 1980s, IDFL expanded to offer consulting services and fabric testing. In the 1990s, IDFL began factory inspection services as well as research services. In the 2000s, IDFL began synthetic filling testing, finished product inspection services, non-down filling testing, and audit services. In 2002, IDFL opened an office in Frauenfeld, Switzerland . In 2003, IDFL opened an office in Hangzhou, China . .

Down and Feather Testing

IDFL assists companies in the down and feather industry acquire sterilization permits and meet customer quality expectations by inspecting factories and testing down and feather material. IDFL grades material quality by testing down and feather composition, content analysis, and species type as well as numerous other quality factors. Material is also graded for cleanliness by examining the fat and oil percentages, pH levels, odor, turbidity, and other purity factors. All down and feather material is double tested.

IDFL tests materials according to the following standards:

Testing Standard	Country
AS	Australia
ASTM	International
Canada	Canada
CNS	Taiwan
EN	Europe
GB	China
Gost	Russia
IDFB	International
JIS	Japan
KS	Korea
USA 2000	United States
VSB	Switzerland

Audit Services

IDFL consults with clients by conducting traceability audits of supply chains primarily for CSR topics like live plucking. IDFL consults or performs audits under different licenses such as: – IDFL internal standard, this standard began in 2008 and has gone through different revisions since. It has options of scope which allow tracing a particular leg, location or the whole of a supply chain. – Traumpass standard, this is a German-based standard that translates as 'dream standard' and is developed by the German Down and Feather Association. – Downpass standard, is a standard that is based all of European Union Directives. It contains a quality element verifying the quality of the material and in addition has the actual audit process tracing material from a product to the source of the raw materials. This standard is strongest in Europe, and countries with higher European influence but is gaining traction in other North American markets. – RDS (Responsible Down Standard) This standard was developed with many discussions in the OIA (Outdoor Industry Association), but was then completed by The North Face and then strategically gifted to the Textile Exchange The RDS standard has claimed to save – TDS (Traceable Down Standard), This standard was developed by Patagonia to address needs in their supply chain and was also gifted to NSF (National Safety Foundation). It was also seen as a way for Patagonia to not be outdone by competitor TNF

Audit services generally involve tracing materials from finished goods back to their original sources through various means, such as invoices or an audit system that tracks the chain of custody. This process may also involve visiting supply chains and factories to verify that down and feather materials are not sourced from live plucking or Foie Gras production, as well as inspecting other elements such as sterilization procedures.

A new element that is being considered to support the traceability audits is isotope technology which IDFL also provides.

Inspection Services

IDFL provides inspection services in behalf of clients in order to confirm products being imported have been manufactured according to specifications and labeling standards. IDFL also assesses factory quality control methods, inspects finished products, and consults companies in quality control procedures.

Consulting and Training

IDFL also provides many different types of trainings, seminars and other consulting work

External links

• https://www.linkedin.com/company/idfl/
• https://www.facebook.com/IDFLLaboratory/