Better Blankets: Switch to These Down Alternative Duvets for Year-Round Coziness

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The perfect duvet — the plush, billowy kind that wraps you in cloud-like softness and keeps you warm without overheating — can be hard to find. Classic duvets are stuffed with goose down, the fuzzy under-plumage found beneath the feathers, which give the comforters their comfortable, fluffy shape, and provide remarkably efficient insulation.

However, some down manufacturing has been criticized by animal rights organizations for cruelty. If you’re looking for ethical down, we recommend seeking out manufacturers that have been certified by an accredited watchdog group, such as Global Traceable Down Standard, American Down and Feather Council, or Downmark, which ensures that all down has been ethically-sourced.

Other people are sensitive to real feathers in their bedding, which can often trigger allergies or irritate the skin.

If you’d rather not sleep in materials sourced from animals at all there are also plenty of down alternative materials, often made from polyester or natural fibers like bamboo. These down alternative duvets provide the same warmth and coziness as real down duvets, only using a faux down fill instead.

What Makes a Good Duvet?

Whether you’re looking for a natural down duvet or a man-made down alternative, there are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a duvet comforter.

Fill Power: A duvet’s fluffiness is measured in fill power, and you can usually find this measurement on the packaging. In general, the higher the fill power the warmer the duvet.

Construction: Duvets come in a few basic stitch patterns: baffle box, quilt stitching, channel, and gusset. The highest quality duvets often combine baffle box — which has reinforced fabric “baffles” on the interior which secure the down, while maintaining the duvet’s height — and gusset construction, in which the duvet is made with fabric walls along the sides, which also help maintain height.

Design and Maintenance: Design elements like fabric handles on the blanket corners are useful when you’re trying to stuff the duvet into its cover. We also appreciate the convenience of comforters that are machine-washable.

1. Linenspa All-Season White Down Alternative Quilted Comforter

People love this box stitch duvet, which puffs right up after one cycle in the dryer. It has a 300 fill weight of microfiber down, meaning it is on the lighter side and therefore perfect for warm climates or hot sleepers. It also includes one thing we love to see on any duvet — fabric ties at the corners to secure to a duvet cover.

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2. Utopia Bedding Comforter Duvet Insert

Though relatively light in appearance, users agree that this comforter is more than warm enough to keep you cozy all winter long whether you live in North Dakota or North Carolina. This is another box stitch comforter, though the manufacturer notes the piping stitches on the blanket’s edges, which help create a wall and elevate the height.

The box stitch also helps to ensure that the faux down filling is evenly distributed (I.e. it won’t bunch or pool up in select spots). Utopia Bedding swaps real goose down for an eco-friendly “siliconized fiberfill alternative,” which is equally as heat-retentive and plump.

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3. EASELAND All Season Quilted Down Alternative Comforter

This comforter earns praise for its fluffiness, warmth, and high-quality box stitching, which is reinforced by double hemming to prevent rips. Breathable and comfortable all year round, we would also point out that unlike many similar duvets, this blanket doesn’t make noise when you’re moving around beneath it.

This one is made from a synthetic “polyfill,” which is more animal-friendly and allergy-friendly compared to down or feathers.

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4. Bedsure White Down Alternative Comforter

This duvet boasts the baffle box stitching that helps minimize the shifting of the microfiber down alternative interior, and the result is a perfect balance of puffiness and warmth. Sleepers who’ve tried this comforter say it keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer and that it is extremely soft to the touch — just in case you plan to use it sans cover.

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