| The Care Labelling Rule
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| The Care Labelling Rule requires manufacturers and importer of textile wearing apparel and certain piece goods to provide regular care label instructions when these products are sold. The specifics required by the Rule are discussed in this section, for the entire Rule see 16 CFR Part 423. |
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1. Who Is Coverd
- Manufacturers of textile wearing apparel.
- Manufacturers of piece goods sold at retail to consumers for making wearing apparel.
- Importers of textile wearing apparel.
- Importers of piece goods sold to consumers for making wearing apparel.
- Any person or organization that directs or controls the manufacture or importation of textile wearing apparel or piece goods for making wearing apparel. |
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2. What Is Coverd
- All textile wearing apparel used to cover or protect the body, except shoes, gloves and hats. Items such as handkerchiefs, belts, suspenders and neckties are excluded because they are not used to cover or protect the body. Non-woven, one-time use garments also excluded because they do not require ordinary care and maintenance.
- All piece goods for making home-sewn apparel. An exception is marked manufacturers' remnants up to 10 yards when the fiber content is not known and cannot easily be determined. Trim up to 5 inches wide also excluded.
- Manufacturers and imports of textile wearing apparel and certain piece goods are covered by this regulation. This included any person or organization that directs or controls the manufacture or importation of covered products
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3. What Must Be Done
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Provide full care instructions about regular care for the garment, or provide warnings if a garment cannot be cleaned without harm.
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Ensure that care label instructions, if followed, will cause no substantial harm to the product.
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Warn consumers about certain procedures that they may assume to be consistent with the instruction on the label but that would harm the product.
- Ensure that care labels remain legible throughout the useful life of the product.
- Manufacturers must attach care labels to finished products before they are sold. |
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4. When Must Labelling Be Done
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Domestic manufacturers must attach care labels to finished products before they are sold.
- Importers must ensure that care labels are attached to products before they are sold in this country. Care labels do not have to be attached to imported products when they enter the United States. |
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5. How To Label Textile Clothing
- Labels must be fastened so they can be seen or easily found by consumers at the point of sale.
- If labels cannot be readily seen because of packaging additional care information must appear on the outside of the package or on a hangtag fastened to the product.
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Labels must be fastened securely and be legible during the useful life of the product.
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6. How To Label Piece Goods
- Manufacturers and importer must provide care information clearly and conspicuously on the end of each roll or bolt. This information must say what regular care is needed. The information need only apply to the fabric on the roll or bolt and not to additional elements that the consumer may add to the fabric, such as trim, lining, or buttons. |
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7. Exemptions
The following products do not need to have permanently affixed care labels, although temporary labels must be provided.
- Totally reversible clothing without pockets, as long as care information appears on a temporary label and is conspicuous at point of sale.
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Products that may be washed, bleached, dried, ironed or drycleaned by the harshest procedures available, as log as the instruction "Wash or dryclean, any normal method" appears on a temporary label and is conspicuous at point of sale.
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Products granted exemptions under Section (c)(1) of the original Rule. (e.g. reversible garments), as long as they still meet the exemption standards.
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Products granted exemptions in the future on grounds that care labels would harm their appearance or usefulness, pursuant to a petition under the amended Rule.
Following products do not need to have any care instructions:
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Products sold to institutional buyers for commercial use.
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Garments to be custom made of material provided by the consumer.
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Products granted exemptions under Section (c)(2) of the original Rule because they were completely washable and sold at retail for $3 or less. If the product no longer meets the standard for the exemption, the exemption is automatically revoked. |
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Violations
Failure to provide reliable care instruction and warnings for the useful life of an item, as required, constitutes a violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act and could subject the violator to enforcement action and penalties of up to $10,000 per offense. |
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Bad care labels bring penalty |
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| To meet specific requirements and ultimate consumer satisfaction, consult your local professional commercial testing laboratories who offers a variety of quality and performance testing and consultant services, damage of garments caused by improper care label will lead to complaint and compensation; a proper and reliable care label is the only way to protect your interest.
The Federal Trade Commission has developed this business manual to assist you in understanding and complying with the Rule. If you have questions, please write to the Federal Trade Commission, Enforcement Division, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Washington, D.C, 20580. |
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