Care labelling rules differ by market, so the label a product needs depends on where it will be sold, not where it is made. In the United States the FTC care labelling rule sets the approach for permanent care labels, and fibre content and origin are governed by separate federal rules; the EU and UK require fibre composition labelling by law and use ISO 3758 care symbols by convention; Canada and Australia have their own schemes. Your compliance team or a testing lab should confirm the exact wording for each product before labels are printed, because a reprint after goods have landed is expensive.
United States
The FTC care labelling rule is written for clothing and certain fabrics sold by the piece, and many home textiles sit outside its strict scope. That does not mean you can leave care instructions off. US retailers almost always require them, and the fibre content, country of origin and the identity of the manufacturer or importer must appear on most household textiles under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act.
Labels must be permanent, legible for the useful life of the product and in English. Many importers use care symbols alongside words, but words alone are acceptable in the US, and the instructions must be ones that will not damage the product if followed.
EU, UK and other markets
The EU textile labelling regulation requires the fibre composition to be shown on the product using the permitted fibre names, in the language of the country of sale. Care instructions are not required by that regulation, but retailers expect them, and the ISO 3758 symbols for washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional care are used by convention. The UK kept the same framework after leaving the EU in its own version of the regulation. Symbols avoid translation problems, which is why they dominate on products sold across several countries.
Canada requires fibre content and dealer identity on most consumer textile articles, in both English and French, and has its own care symbol system that closely follows the international one. Australia and New Zealand have a mandatory care labelling standard that requires adequate care instructions in English. Both markets put the burden on the importer, so check each product line rather than assuming the EU label will serve.
What to settle before labels are printed
- Who approves the label artwork, and whether the retailer has its own template that overrides the supplier's.
- The language or languages required for each destination, and whether a multi-language label is acceptable.
- Whether the label is sewn in, printed on or attached as a hang tag, and where on the product it sits.
- The exact fibre percentages, which must match a lab test rather than the mill's description of the fabric.
- Country of origin wording, which in most markets must state the country in full rather than an abbreviation.
- Who holds the label stock and how it is controlled, so that an old version is not stitched into a new order.
How we check labels
We check label artwork against your approved version, confirm the fibre composition against the lab report, and inspect labels and packing at the unit before loading. We supervise loading and send weekly updates while the order is in production. If you are entering a new market and want a quick check of what the label needs, we offer a free 20-minute sourcing review.