Textile and garment care, labelling and consumer information
What must appear on the label
In the EU, textile products must state fibre composition by percentage, with permitted tolerances, and any non-textile parts of animal origin. Care instructions are not mandatory across the EU but are required by many retailers and expected under consumer law; ISO 3758 symbols are the common language. Country of origin, size, manufacturer and batch details support traceability. Children's nightwear has flammability requirements.
Reading care symbols
Order: wash, bleach, dry, iron, professional care. A washtub with a number gives the maximum temperature; a hand in the tub means hand wash; a cross means do not wash. Triangle: crossed means no bleach. Square with a circle: tumble dry, dots for heat. Iron: one dot 110 °C, two 150 °C, three 200 °C. Circle: dry clean; P = perchloroethylene, F = hydrocarbons; a cross means do not dry clean.
Worked example: 95% cotton/5% elastane jersey - 40 °C wash, no bleach, low tumble, iron at two dots, dry clean P if needed. Elastane degrades with heat, so high temperature and hot ironing are avoided; cotton tolerates the wash but not chlorine bleach.
Traps: mixing dot numbers with dry-cleaning letters; assuming 'dry clean only' means no washing at all; omitting percentages; putting symbols in the wrong order; ignoring trims.