What is a Care Label?

A care label tells the person who owns a garment or home textile how to clean it without damaging it. It usually sits next to the fibre composition on the sewn-in label, and it is one of the few pieces of product information consumers read again and again after purchase.

In Europe and most of the world, care labels use the symbols developed by GINETEX, the International Association for Textile Care Labelling. The symbols are registered trademarks owned by GINETEX and are the basis of the international standard ISO 3758. The current edition, ISO 3758:2023, was published on 6 December 2023 and replaced the 2012 edition. It added symbols for hand washing at ambient temperature and ironing without steam, and aligned several graphics with the GINETEX versions.

The five care symbols

GINETEX symbols are not used separately. A label covers all treatments, in this order:

1. Washing (wash tub). The number is the maximum washing temperature in degrees Celsius. A hand in the tub means hand wash only.
2. Bleaching (triangle). An empty triangle allows any bleach, a triangle with two oblique lines allows only oxygen or non-chlorine bleach, and a crossed-out triangle means do not bleach.
3. Drying (square). A circle in the square means tumble drying, with dots for the temperature level. Lines in the square show natural drying, such as line drying, drip drying or flat drying.
4. Ironing (iron). One, two or three dots show the maximum sole plate temperature.
5. Professional textile care (circle). Letters in the circle tell professional cleaners which dry cleaning solvent or wet cleaning process they can use.

Two modifiers apply across symbols. A bar underneath means a mild process and a double bar a very mild process. A cross means the treatment must not be used. The label shows the most severe treatment that will not cause irreversible damage, so milder treatments and lower temperatures are always allowed.

Is a care label mandatory?

In the EU, no. The Textile Labelling Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 requires every textile product to carry a durable label with its fibre composition (Article 14), but it does not require care instructions. In its 2013 report on possible new labelling rules, the European Commission described the care labelling system as voluntary, well established and owned by the private sector, and found that a mandatory EU system would bring only limited benefits. Check national rules in each country where you sell.

In the United States, yes. The FTC Care Labeling Rule (16 CFR Part 423) requires manufacturers and importers of textile wearing apparel and certain piece goods to provide regular care instructions before sale. Care labels must be permanent, stay legible for the useful life of the product and give either a washing or a drycleaning instruction, with warnings where a usual care step would harm the product. Words are the default; ASTM D5489 care symbols may be used instead under the conditions in §423.8(g).

Care labels, digital labels and the DPP

The EU plans to revise the Textile Labelling Regulation. According to the European Parliament's Legislative Train, the revision is meant to cover physical and digital labelling of textiles, including sustainability and circularity information linked to the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). The Commission planned a proposal for the second quarter of 2026, but none had been adopted by October 2026.

Separately, textiles (with a focus on apparel) are among the priority product groups in the Commission's ESPR working plan of 16 April 2025, which means a Digital Product Passport is expected. The exact passport content will be set in a delegated act. Brands can already put care instructions, along with repair and washing guides, on a page reached through a QR code or other data carrier, while keeping the physical care label.

How to prepare

1. Base care instructions on testing of the finished product, including trims, prints and accessories, not on fibre content alone.
2. Use the current ISO 3758:2023 symbols and check your GINETEX license if you use the registered symbols.
3. Keep the order fixed: washing, bleaching, drying, ironing, professional care.
4. Add words for the US where needed and check FTC requirements before shipping to American customers.
5. Store care data per product next to fibre composition, so the sewn-in label, online listings and any digital label stay consistent.
6. Watch the Textile Labelling Regulation revision for changes to what must be on the physical label and what can move to a digital one.