A Guide to Care Labelling
Textile labelling requirements vary from country to country. Even within the EU and EEA, certain countries have additional national requirements for textile labelling beyond the EU regulations. This variety in regulations increases the complexity of doing cross-border business, which could pose a compliance risk for your business.
This UKFT Rise guide aims to provide a broad overview of care labelling principles to help you understand the basics. As this is ever changing, please bear in mind that this guide is a starting point, and we advise you to seek out more information related to your specific products.
Labelling can be confusing and complex, which is why full UKFT membership offers extensive care labelling compliance support, a label translation service and a bank of up-to-date guides. With paid membership our in-house care labelling and GINETEX expert, Noleen, can make sure you get it right when it comes to labelling.
What you need to know about labels
A brand is responsible for ensuring that a label:
Is durable, ie made of suitable material with resistance to the washing and professional cleaning process indicated on the label and it must remain legible throughout the lifetime of the product.
Has information provided that is accurate and in the case of care, appropriate.
Has a font size sufficiently large enough to make it easy to understand the information.
Be in a prominent position on the product but not in such a way not to irritate the skin or show through the article and spoil its appearance. It must be attached to the product in such a way to meet the mandatory requirements of the destination country.
What is labelling and what kind of information is often included in the labelling?
Each market has their own textile labelling regulations and Product Safety Regulations that will specify what must be on a label.
Below are some examples of information that is commonly included on a textile label, (not including products that must meet flammability tests and carry specific wording by regulation; or products made with fur or leather or with feather and down insulation–these may require their own specific additional content). The following list is either mandatory or voluntary, depending on the country you are selling to:
·
Brand name
·
Country of origin
·
Fibre composition
· Care instruction
·
Product reference/batch/season number
·
Manufacture’s/ retailers information
· Size
·
Environmental, sustainable, or recycled claims. Where these are included either directly or by implication, through words, symbols, emblems, logos, depictions, product brand names, or through any other means, including digital marketing, you must be able to provide the evidence if called upon to do.
The above is not an exhaustive list. In some instances, it is necessary to add the name of the product or specific standard references that the product has to meet. Childrenswear will need additional specific labelling for some countries.
Translations
Any mandatory information must be translated into the language of the target market.
Made in/Country of Origin
The country of origin refers to the country in which the garment was sewn or constructed. This is written as ‘Made in…’. The ‘Made in…’ label is not a legal requirement in the UK or in most of the EU, although there are some exceptions.
If a consumer could be misled as to where a product is made, then you must include a ‘the country of origin. An example of this is: A plain white T-shirt made in Bangladesh does not need a made in label. But a T-shirt made in Bangladesh featuring a Union Jack (potentially inferring that it might be made in the UK) would need to include the country of origin.
Fibre Composition
Fibre content is mandatory globally. Fibre content should always be listed in descending order eg 85% cotton, 15% recycled wool using only approved fibre names. Products that contain materials of animal origin, eg leather or fur, have their own specific labelling requirements. Only fibre names from the approved fibre list of the target market should be used for fibre composition.
Flammability
Nightwear and garments commonly worn as nightwear are subject to certain labelling requirements regarding their flammability. Children’s nightwear must satisfy the flammability requirements specified in British Standard 5722. Babies’ garments and adults’ nightwear must carry a permanent label showing whether they meet the Flammability Standard.
Clothing sold in the Netherlands has specific requirements to do with burning behaviour. Please read the downloads below for further information.
What you need to know about care information
Care information is not a legal requirement in the UK or some EU/EEA countries, but the consumer expects it and if you do not provide care information and the consumer uses the wrong method to clean the item, the producer is responsible for redress. Provide care information in full covering the entire care palette - wash, bleach, dry, iron, professional clean. The easiest way to do this is to use care symbols. The global standard for care symbols, (except for the US, Korea and Australia), is the GINETEX care labelling system.
GINETEXsymbolsprovideeasilyunderstandablecareguidanceandremovestheneedfor longwritteninstructionsandtheirtranslations.Thesecaresymbolsareregistered trademarksinover80countries,includingtheEU/EEA,SouthAmerica,China,Japanthe MiddleEast,andtheUK.Alicenceisrequiredtousethesymbolsonyourlabels,your websiteormarketing.UKFTistheGinetexpartnerintheUKandweissuethelicencetoUK basedbusinessesfortheuseoftheGinetexsymbolsworldwide.Thelicenceispackaged intoUKFTmembershiptosupportyouwithyourgloballabellingrequirements.
GinetexClevercare
Clevercareprovidestheconsumerwithinformationonhowtoreducetheimpactonthe environmentofdomestictextilecare.UseoftheClevercarelogoisoptional.Ifcompanies areinterestedinClevercareandthesupportingmaterials,includinganappetc.then pleasecontactUKFT.
Otherregulationstobeawareof: France
Trimanlabelling-Clothing,textiles,householdlinenandfootwear,(therearesome exclusions)requireTrimanmarkingandsortinginformation.UKFTmembersare supportedingettingthisrightfortheirproducts.
Further Recommended Resources
Information about UKFT membership
Further care labelling information
Further information about the GINETEX symbols and what they mean
Further downloads about flammability regulations, footwear regulations and clevercare
UKFT Dutch Flammability
New Requirements for Fire Safety of Children’s Nightwear
A Guide to Nightwear Safety Regulations 1986
Footwear Regulations: A Guidance Note
Textile Labelling Guidance 2012
If you are interested in accessing the GINETEX license or would like to know more about how full UKFT membership can help with your labelling requirements, please get in touch with Rachel at rachel.cannings@ukft.org.
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