A clothing care label explains how to look after a garment. It often shares space with fibre composition, size or other product information, but each item has a different purpose. Planning those details together helps you create a label that customers can read and your manufacturer can attach correctly.
This guide is for clothing brands and makers choosing what to put on their labels before ordering. For help reading individual laundry symbols, see our guide to wash-care symbols.
What should you include on a clothing care label?
Start with the finished product, the market where you will sell it and the information your customer needs. The following is a planning checklist; not every item is compulsory for every garment, and the information does not necessarily have to appear on one physical label.
| Information to plan | What to check |
|---|---|
| Fibre composition | Confirm the correct fibre names and percentages, including any components that need separate information. |
| Care instructions | Choose washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional-cleaning instructions suitable for the complete garment. |
| Additional wording | Add important instructions that symbols alone do not communicate, where appropriate for your product. |
| Size, branding and origin | Decide which details belong here and which will appear on another label. Check the basis for any country-of-origin claim. |
| Safety and identification information | Check whether your product and destination market require particular warnings, business details or product references. |
Are care labels legally required in the UK?
For ordinary clothing sold in England, Scotland and Wales, fibre composition labelling is generally required, subject to exceptions. The information must use the appropriate fibre names and be clear and accessible. See GOV.UK's textile labelling guidance and the linked Trading Standards guide to labelling textiles.
Care instructions are generally voluntary for ordinary clothing in Great Britain, although they help customers look after their purchases. Trading Standards explains the distinction between fibre and care information. Product-specific safety rules can add requirements: nightwear, for example, needs a separate assessment of applicable flammability and labelling rules. Consult the nightwear guidance before preparing that label.
Northern Ireland and overseas sales can involve different rules. Our Clothing Labels and the Law guide provides a starting point. Check the requirements for your particular product and market before approving the artwork.
Choose care instructions for the finished garment
Base the instructions on reliable information about the complete item, including its fabric, lining, trims, dyes, print and decoration. A treatment that suits the main fabric may affect a transfer, fastening or other component differently.
Ask your garment manufacturer or fabric supplier for supporting care information and arrange appropriate testing where needed. Keep the relevant specification and approval records with your product details. If you change a fabric, print process or supplier, review the label again.
A fabric's fibre name alone does not tell you everything about its safe washing temperature, shrinkage or colourfastness. Avoid copying instructions from an unrelated garment just because its fabric sounds similar.
Use symbols and words clearly
The familiar care-symbol system covers five processes: washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional cleaning. Use the correct combination for the garment and keep any written instructions consistent with the symbols.
Additional wording can explain product-specific care that the symbols do not fully describe. Check that the wording is supported by the product's care information and is understandable in the destination market.
For current symbol meanings, refer to GINETEX's official care-symbol reference. If you plan to use GINETEX symbols, check the applicable licence arrangements with UKFT, the UK representative, before production.
Plan the material, size and attachment
Your care label needs enough space for legible information and the chosen sewing method. Printed fabric labels can accommodate several lines of composition and care details; the right specification depends on your layout and garment.
Decide whether the label will sit flat or fold into a seam. Confirm the finished visible size, sewing allowance and orientation with your garment maker before preparing the artwork. Keep text and symbols away from the stitching and fold lines.
Check a physical sample for readability, feel and suitability for the intended care process. Position matters too: an easily reached side seam may suit one garment, while another needs a different arrangement to avoid rubbing or showing through the fabric.
Check the artwork before ordering
- Confirm the content: check fibre percentages, care instructions, spelling and any required product information against your records.
- Check consistency: the written instructions and symbols should agree. Confirm any translated wording with someone qualified to check it.
- Review at actual size: small text can look clear on an enlarged screen and become difficult to read when printed.
- Allow for construction: check folds, sewing space, front-and-back orientation and how the label will sit inside the garment.
- Match the order to the range: different compositions, sizes or care requirements may need separate label versions.
- Keep the approved version: save the final artwork with its product reference so repeat orders use the correct specification.
Common care-label questions
Can care and composition information share a label?
Yes, they can often appear together if the layout and attachment meet the relevant requirements. Branding and size information can also share that space, provided it remains clear which information describes the garment's composition and care.
Can I use one label across my whole clothing range?
Only if its information is suitable for every item that receives it. A different fibre blend, lining, decoration or care requirement may need another version. Check this before ordering a large quantity.
Should my online product description match the label?
Yes. Check that the composition on the garment agrees with the information supplied to customers. Fibre content must also be stated in online descriptions where textile products can be ordered from those descriptions.
Order care labels for your clothing range
Once your product information is confirmed, use our personalised wash care label builder to plan your wording, symbols and layout. Review the available options on the product page before ordering; the on-screen preview is an illustration.
If you want to compare label materials, explore our label sample pack. For a bespoke specification, contact GB Labels with your garment type, required quantity, dimensions and confirmed label content.
