Nothing is better for sleep than a duvet made from real eiderdown. As part of the search for the best, most natural, most animal-friendly and sustainable eiderdown, Mama Hulda went on an expedition to Iceland. Mama Hulda’s sons discovered a real eider duck paradise on a remote peninsula. They were able to see the ducks raising their chicks, watch how the down is gathered and learn how the farmers process the valuable feathers.
The following images show this adventure to mystical Iceland, where the eiderdown for Mama Hulda’s new ‘Golden Eider’ duvet comes from.
Eiderdown duvets have been known for their soporific effect for centuries
It’s no secret that eiderdown duvets make for exceptionally good sleep. Even back in the 14th century, Icelandic eiderdown duvets were very highly prized in Central Europe. The word ‘down’ even comes from the Icelandic – another indication that eiderdown was the gold standard of sleeping accessories.
Why do you sleep so much better under eiderdown?
For a deep, restorative sleep, it is important that the body isn’t too hot or too cold and isn’t weighed down by heavy bedding.
Eiderdown is almost half as light as standard goose down. But thanks to its many fine branches, it has considerably better insulating properties and twice as much volume. Considerably less eiderdown is required to achieve the same level of insulation offered by a normal down duvet. Eiderdown duvets only weigh hundreds of grams. You can hardly feel them, but they offer perfect insulation.
Eiderdown blankets aren’t just pleasantly lightweight, but also boast incredible temperature-regulating properties.
Especially in summer, when it’s hot and close, many people couldn’t imagine wanting to sleep under a down duvet. Even lightweight down duvets are enough to break you out into a sweat. Standard down is not suitable for tropical nights. As eiderdown loses its tension when warm, it becomes flatter and doesn’t trap as much air. This means that it loses its insulating properties in the heat. This unique effect is very handy not just in summer, but any time the weather changes. You’ll never freeze or sweat under an eiderdown duvet.
Completely animal-friendly but hard to process and very expensive
Unlike all other down, eiderdown is not plucked. The eider duck plucks out its own fine breast feathers to create a nest for its brood. Thanks to the down’s chain-like structure, these form a soft, insulating layer of padding that won’t get blown away by the wind. Once the chicks are grown, the down has served its purpose so can be collected by the eider farmers.
The eider duck is a rare, wild bird that is protected by conservation law. Eider ducks are not bred. The Icelandic farmers do everything they can to make sure that the eider ducks are happy and healthy, protect them from natural predators and hope that they’ll come back to their farms next year to raise their next broods. Due to the low yield and the difficulty of processing these delicate feathers that constantly stick to each other, eiderdown is considerably more expensive than standard down.
