A change.org petition is circulating requesting that Marriott remove down pillows from their hotels. The petition currently has over 85,000 supporters, including several Marriott Rewards members.
Marriott owns thousands of hotels and purchases millions of down pillows and duvets each year. Down pillows were once considered a desirable luxury item by guests. Today, public sentiment has changed. Opposition to the cruel practice of ripping down from live ducks and geese has caused many consumers to reject down, and caused companies to consider alternatives or face a public relations nightmare.
In addition to animal cruelty concerns, some guests have hypersensitivity, asthma and allergies triggered by the dusts, molds and bird dander in feather pillows. Although Marriott currently offers “allergy free” rooms, these rooms are not feather free. Marriott does not offer dedicated feather free rooms.
Marriott responded early on, claiming guests preferred down pillows so they had no plan to change.
After Marriott's initial response, petitioners requested that they at least consider establishing dedicated blocks of feather free rooms - much like their smoke free rooms - to prevent triggering respiratory attacks in guests predisposed to these conditions. Marriott has not responded.
The petition can be seen at : https://www.change.org/...