Clothing or fabric you buy must have labels that list the fibres, and the percentages or amounts of the different fibres, in the good.
This ensures you have accurate information about the fibre content of the clothing or textiles you buy to make sure you can correctly use and care for these products.
What goods do the rules apply to?
Most textile goods such as clothing, socks and hosiery, fabrics and carpets must be labelled with fibre content information.
Some textile goods are excluded, including:
second-hand goods
footwear and textile materials used in the manufacture of footwear (eg, insoles)
goods made up from fabric selected or provided by the customer
miscellaneous goods such as artificial flowers, bags and cases, shoelaces and toys.
What are the rules?
The label or marking must be in English, clearly readable and not less than 1.5 mm high. It must be easily accessible for you to read.
The label should include a list of the fibres used from the highest amount to lowest amount, and may include percentages, for example:
80% cotton, 20% elastane
cotton, elastane.
The label must be a permanent label which you can see when examining the clothing. It must be on the good, or if it is not able to be seen because of the way the good is packaged, displayed or folded, it should also be on a removable label or the packaging.
Some goods (such as baby bibs, hosiery and household cleaning cloths) do not need a permanent label but they must still provide fibre content information on a removable label or packaging.
