Eiderdown has been harvested for a millennial

Eiderdown has unique properties recognized by Icelanders going back a thousand years, and for at least three centuries by the first inhabitants of New France, which eventually became Québec. These early French settlers, overwhelmed by the harshness of Canadian winters, negotiated the purchase of eiderdown from the Amerindians of the Lower North Shore of the St. Lawrence River.

In the St.Lawrence Estuary, the sustainable harvest of eiderdown establishes an extraordinary partnership between humans and eider. The benefits derived from the harvest have led to the acquisition, protection and conservation of several nesting islands in the St.Lawrence estuary.

Canadian Eiderdown in The St.Lawrence Estuary

The Common Eider duck survives in the icy waters of the Northern Hemisphere. Québec's bird sanctuaries on the islands in the St. Lawrence Estuary provide a safe place for the eider ducks to rest and nest during their annual migration. Eiderdown is harvested once a year; collected by hand from wild eider ducks' nests. No bird is harmed in the process. Instead, this limited sustainable harvest helps protect nesting habitat while promoting biodiversity.

Protecting the nesting habitat of migratory birds leads to the conservation of crucial wetlands and swamps - essential to many other species. Wild migrating birds naturally promote biodiversity and the annual harvest yields precious scientific data about the migrating bird population used by biologists and The Canadian Wildlife Service to manage the species and its habitat.

The harvest generates funds directed into concrete measures for the conservation and enhancement of the natural environment. Relying on Canadian eiderdown allows us to source locally and encourage small economies in remote areas. Being cleaned, washed and sterilized in Canada, all of our down exceeds Canadian and international cleanliness standards and significantly reduces our carbon footprint.