What has to be on a clothing label before it can be sold?
Clothing label requirements vary by destination and product, covering fibre content and, where required, care, origin, business details, language and attachment.
Market-specific guidance. Sources and review information are included below.
Quick answers from this guide
What information has to appear on a clothing label?
The required information depends on where the clothes will be sold and the type of clothing. Fibre content appears across many textile rules. Most products covered by the US Textile and Wool Acts also need country of origin and responsible business details. Language, label position and attachment requirements need their own destination check before the label is approved.
Are washing instructions compulsory on every clothing label?
Washing instructions are not compulsory under every country's textile rules. The US Care Labeling Rule requires care instructions for covered clothing, while Canada's federal textile guide treats care information as voluntary. Care wording still needs to suit the finished clothes, including any print, lining or decoration that could be damaged by a cleaning method suitable for the main fabric.
Can the same clothing label be used in several countries?
One physical label can serve several countries if it meets every applicable requirement in each destination. Compare the required information, language, position and attachment before combining the wording. Keep that comparison with the approved label design. Separate labels for different destinations may be easier to check than a single crowded label.
When should a brand approve its clothing labels?
Approve clothing labels after the materials used to make the clothes are settled and the destination requirements have been checked. The fibre wording must match those materials, and care instructions need support for the finished item. Keep the approved design with the sample the maker will follow, and revisit the label if a material or finishing detail changes.
On this page 5 sections
A clothing label must carry the information required for that type of clothing where it will be sold: fibre content is widely required, while care instructions, origin and business details vary by destination. There is no single legal label for every country. The required language, position and way of attaching it also need checking.
01The destination and the clothes determine the required wording
Start a written label brief before the first sample. Name the countries where the clothes will be sold and describe the item, including its separate materials. Record what information each destination requires, the agreed words and language, and where each part will appear. Name the person who will approve the finished design.
Keep the brand name and other chosen wording separate from information required by law. A size or message on a hanging tag may belong on the clothes without being a universal legal requirement. A shop selling the brand may also ask for particular information. Record the reason for including each part so changes can be checked against the right requirement.
One label can cover several destinations if it meets all their applicable rules. Compare those rules before combining the words. Separate versions may be easier to read and check. A label copied from clothes sold elsewhere does not establish what this item needs.
02The fibre line must describe the materials used in the clothes
Write down every material and where it is used. Include the lining and filling as well as the main fabric, and record any separate panels or detachable parts. The name of the item cannot supply that information. A jacket's outer fabric does not describe everything inside it.
For textile products covered by EU Regulation 1007/2011, fibre names must come from the regulation's recognised list. Where several fibres are used, their percentages are given in descending order by weight, subject to the regulation's detailed rules. Marketing descriptions cannot replace those names. Non-textile parts of animal origin also require an indication on the product. The language requirements of the EU country of sale must be checked.
In England, Scotland and Wales, government guidance requires fibre content to be shown, including fur and other animal parts. Where an item has components with different fibre contents, the content of each must be shown. The guidance identifies the people making and selling the clothes as responsible for compliance.
Use the final agreed materials to write the fibre line. If the maker changes a lining or fabric after the sample is approved, check the wording again before labels are ordered. A correct label for the sample can be wrong for the clothes that follow.
03Business details and origin wording differ between countries
For most products covered by the US Textile and Wool Acts, the Federal Trade Commission requires fibre content, country of origin and details identifying the responsible business. That may be the manufacturer, importer or another business responsible for marketing or handling the clothes. The label can use the full business name or an eligible business's FTC Registered Identification Number.
Country of origin needs confirmation from the importer against the item's processing history. Keep the approved wording with the label design. Imported clothes also need a US Customs check alongside the Federal Trade Commission requirements.
Canada's Competition Bureau identifies fibre content and dealer information as the core textile label requirements. Dealer information means the company name and mailing address, or a CA Identification Number for an eligible business. Fibre names and information directly related to fibre content must appear in English and French, subject to the guidance's stated exception. Dealer information and country of origin, when required, do not have to be bilingual under that guidance.
Canada's federal guide identifies sizing as information that is not required. Provincial requirements also need review. These differences are why adding a business address or a size to a label does not complete the legal check for every destination.
04Care instructions need support from the finished clothes
The US Care Labeling Rule requires care instructions for covered clothing. They must give a complete regular-care procedure and warn against a procedure someone could reasonably expect to use if it would harm the item. The manufacturer or importer needs a reasonable basis for the instructions. Federal Trade Commission guidance recognises reliable testing and technical expertise as possible support.
Canada's federal textile guide treats care information as voluntary. When supplied, it must describe an appropriate method and must not be false or misleading. The EU textile regulation concerns fibre composition; care requirements need checking under any separate rule that applies to the item or destination.
Check the whole item when agreeing the wording. A wash that suits the main fabric may damage a print or decoration. Review test results and information about individual materials alongside a wash trial of the finished clothes. Revisit the instructions when a fabric, colour or finishing detail changes. The care words need to remain connected to what is being made.
05Position and attachment are part of label approval
Correct wording still needs the correct placement. Under the EU textile regulation, consumer fibre information must be durable, legible, visible and accessible, with secure attachment. US guidance requires fibre content, origin and business details to stay securely attached until delivery to the customer; care information must be permanent. For clothes with a neck, US origin information has a prescribed inside-neck position.
Tell the maker where each piece of information belongs and how it will be attached. Check the label on the sample, including whether folding hides any words and whether its position causes irritation. Review both sides of the design where information appears on the reverse.
Keep a version number, approval date and approver's name with the final design and supporting records. Check the labels used on the finished clothes against that approved version before shipment. This connects the written decision to the fibre wording, language and placement on the item being sold.
Sources
Official sources and further reading are linked below. Regulations change; confirm current requirements for your product and market.
Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 on textile fibre names and labelling →Textile labelling, GOV.UK →Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements Under the Textile and Wool Acts, Federal Trade Commission →Clothes Captioning: Complying with the Care Labeling Rule, Federal Trade Commission →Textile labelling requirements: Dealer information, Competition Bureau Canada →Textile labelling requirements in a nutshell, Competition Bureau Canada →Guide to the Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations, Competition Bureau Canada →