Care Labelling Systems
Care Label
• Care Label is a tag attached to
textile or clothing products,
showing instructions for proper
care of the products.
• Different care labeling systems for
various countries.
• Some systems are mandatory as
required in the national regulations,
Others systems are adopted on a
voluntary basis.
Care Label FTC & General
Requirements
• Providing complete instructions about regular care for the garment, or provide warnings if the
garment cannot be cleaned without harm.
• Warning consumers about certain procedures that they may assume to be consistent with the
instructions on the label, but that would harm the product.
• Ensuring that care labels remain attached and legible throughout the useful life of the product.
• Labels must be attached so they can be seen or easily found by consumers at the point of sale. If
labels can't be seen easily because of packaging, additional care information must appear on the
outside of the package or on a hang tag attached to the product.
• Labels must be attached permanently and securely and be legible during the useful life of the
product.
• A garment that consists of two or more parts and is always sold as a unit needs only one care
label if the care instructions are the same for all the pieces. The label should be attached to the
major piece of the suit. If the suit pieces require different care instructions or are designed to be
sold separately, then each item must have its own care label.
• Labelling Piece Goods Manufacturers and importers must provide care information clearly and
conspicuously on the end of each roll or bolt of fabric. The information should apply to the fabric
on the roll or bolt, not to the items the consumer might add to the fabric, such as trim, lining or
buttons.
Care Label FTC & General Requirements
• In the USA, articles must be labeled as to their fiber content, country
of origin and manufacturer (or other business responsible for
marketing or handling the item).
• In the EU, DIRECTIVE 96/74/EC (and amendments) cover the fiber
content naming and labeling requirements for textile garments. As to
care labeling, there is no mandatory care labeling at the EU level.
• However in practice, there is a system in Europe, namely the one
based on the care symbols developed by the International Association
for Textile Care Labelling (GINETEX) and incorporated into the ISO
3758 standard13.
• In the US, the Federal Trade Commission enforces the mandatory care
labeling system.
Care Label FTC & General Requirements
• FTC (Federal Trade Commission, USA)has specified what articles come
under the care labeling rules. These are
• All Textile apparel worn to cover or protect the body.
• Exempt apparel: shoes, gloves and hats.
• Excluded items:
• Handkerchiefs, belts, suspenders and neckties because they do not cover or
protect the body.
• Non-woven garments made for one-time use because they do not require
ordinary care.
• Piece goods sold for making apparel at home.
Ginetex- International care
labelling System
• Internationally, many countries follow different care instructions and
have different laws and rules governing the same.
• The International Association for Textile Care Labelling (GINETEX) had,
therefore, developed a language-independent care labelling system in
1975. With an aim to promote voluntary care labelling on international
basis, the GINETEX care labelling system (or international care labelling
system) mainly uses symbols to provide care instructions.
• ISO 3758 1991 provides a code of reference for the use of these
symbols.
Basic Care Symbols
WASHING BLEACHING DRYING IRONING Dry-cleaning
A cross on any of them means that the treatment shall not be used
and a bar under the symbols indicates milder treatment is needed
(broken bar indicates a very mild treatment).
ISO Care Symbols
Washing Bleaching Ironing Dry-Cleaning Drying
ASTM Standard D5489-96c
Canadian Care Symbols
The system consists of five basic symbols which are illustrated
in three traffic light colours, with green colour indicates no
special precautions, a red colour indicates prohibition and
orange colour suggests that precautions necessary .
Japanese Care Labeling system
The Japanese care labelling system has symbols grouped in six categories:
washing, possibility of chlorine-based bleaching, ironing, dry-cleaning,
wringing and drying. Based on JIS L 0217 (1995)
May be ironed at 180 - 210 C
Chlorine-based bleaching DRY-
WASHING (with water) if a cloth is placed between iron
CLEANING
and garment
WRINGING DRYING
