Everyone is talking about Icelandic eiderwown
Icelanders are proud of their traditional eiderdown harvest and the unbelievable quality of this all-natural product. For centuries, down harvesters have protected eider ducks so they can harvest the downy feathers from their nests once the birds do not need them any longer. Foreign media is finally catching on to this incredible story with features seen here:
A true luxury product
Eiderdown is one of the warmest natural fibers in the world, but harvesting this product isn't easy. See the process in this video feature from Business Insider.
The weird magic of eiderdown
Journalist Edward Posnett visited Iceland and wrote in The Guardian a long-read article: "In Iceland, the harvesting of these precious feathers has created a peculiar bond between human and duck. What can this unique relationship teach us?"
The links between Icelanders, ducks, and capitalism explored
"In Isafjordur, the capital of Iceland’s remote Westfjords region, a Lutheran pastor compares eiderdown to cocaine, where the harvester gets a fraction of the price." So begins an article in the Financial Times.
Eiderdown harvesting at Flatey island
On Flatey Island in the Breiðafjörður, located in the Northwestern part of Iceland, the eiderdown collection has long been an important source of income. Read about it in a feature from Seabird Harvest in the North Atlantic.
The case for the most expensive eiderdown comforter
A bird native to Iceland and the northern parts of Canada, the eider produces the world's most sought-after down. Comforters filled with eiderdown can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars. Architectural digest.com
A new life in Iceland farming nature's warmest material
Polar explorer Felicity Aston and her Icelandic husband took on the challenge of a lifetime when they became custodians of an island in the remote Arctic Westfjords to learn the art of eiderdown farming. - Geographical UK.