EU legislation: Labelling of textile products (including garments) Introduction If you export textile products intended to be sold on the EU market (for production or at the retail stage), you have to make sure your products are labelled according to EU requirements. The requirements enable that all EU consumers can gain adequate and equal information about textile products they buy. As such, the main requirements relate to an indication of the fibre composition using prescribed fibre names. Textile products that are not properly labelled, cannot be marketed in the EU. What are textile products? raw, semi-worked or made up products exclusively composed of textile fibres, or products containing at least 80% by weight of textile fibres the textile parts of carpets, mattresses, camping goods, furniture, umbrellas, sunshades, warm linings of footwear, gloves and mittens provided they contain at least 80% textile fibres textiles forming a part of other products where the textile parts are specified Outline of the legislation Directive 2008/121/EC lays down the requirements on the names to be used to describe textile fibres, as well as the requirements on how to label the products. In any case, the requirements do not apply to textile products which: under customs control enter the EU for transit purposes. are imported to the EU from third countries to be processed for re-export. are contracted out to persons working in their own homes or to independent firms that make up work from materials supplied, without the property being transferred for consideration. Names to be used Only the following names are allowed to be used to describe the fibre content of your textile products. Wool, alpaca, llama, camel, kashmir, mohair, angora, vicuña, yak, guanaco, cashgora, beaver, otter, followed or not by the name wool or hair Animal or horsehair, with or without an indication of the kind of animal Silk, cotton, kapok, flax, hemp, jute, abaca, alfa and coir Broom, ramie, sisal, sunn, henequen, maguey, polyurethane, vinylal, trivinyl, elastodiene, elastane and glass fibre Acetate, alginate, cupro, modal, protein, triacetate and viscose Acrylic, chlorofibre, fluorofibre, modacrylic, polyamide or nylon, aramid, polyimide, lyocell, polylactide, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbamide, elastolefin, elastomulltiester and melamine In the case of wool products, the terms virgin wool or fleece wool (as outlined in Article 5 of the Directive) may be used.
Annex I of Directive 2008/121/EC lists the aforementioned fibre names and provides descriptions for each one of them. The list is regularly updated as new technologies lead to the production of new fibres. Listed names may not be used to describe other fibres. If you use a fibre in your textile products with a name that does not appear on the list, it is best to contact your EU buyer for advice. Labelling Textile products must be labelled to show the fibre content. The labelling requirements are as follows: All textile products must carry a label which indicates the fibre content on the product or on the packaging of the product. The label does not have to be permanently attached to the product. It may be removable. If the product is not sold at the retail stage, the particulars may be indicated in the accompanying documents (e.g. invoice). If a product consists of two or more components with different fibre contents (e.g. a jacket with a lining), the content of each must be mentioned. Except when the components represent less than 30% of the product (excluding linings). A textile product consisting of two or more fibres of which one accounts for at least 85% of the product, must be marked: o by the name of the fibre followed by its percentage, o by the name of the fibre followed by the words 85% minimum, or o by the names of all fibres with their related composition percentages. A textile product consisting of two or more fibres which in total account for at least 85% of the product must be marked with the fibre followed by the percentage in descending order (see for an example below). Correct 70% Cotton 30% Polyester Incorrect 30% Linen 70% Polyester However, fibres that separately account for less than 10% may be collectively designated by the words other fibres followed by the total percentage, or by their name followed by the particular percentage. The term mixed fibres or unspecified textile composition can be used for a product whose composition is difficult to be stated at the time of manufacture. Textile products having a pure cotton warp and a pure flax weft, in which the percentage of flax is at least 40%, may be given the name cotton linen union followed by the composition specification pure cotton warp - pure flax weft. The fibre content of purely decorative items that make up 7% or less of the product does not have to be indicated. The word silk cannot be used to describe the texture of other textile fibres. The words pure, all or 100% can only be used when a textile product is made up of only one fibre. Other terms are not allowed. 1 When products are offered at the retail state, EU Member States may require to have the products labelled in the national language(s). Refer to your EU buyer for more information. 1 A tolerance level of 2% of other fibres applies (technical impurity). For textile products which have undergone a carding process, the tolerance level is 5%.
Where two or more textile products have the same composition and form a single unit, they only need to bear one label. Exemptions: Annex III: List of products which do not have to be labelled. Examples are: artificial flowers, containers, felt, hand-embroidered tapestries, toys, travel goods, textile parts of footwear (with the exception of warm linings), protection articles and sails. For more information on the labelling of footwear or protective equipment, refer to the related documents. Annex IV: List of products which do not have be labelled individually. The fibre content can be labelled on the container. Examples are: floor cloths, clean clothes, handkerchiefs and ties. Future legislative developments: Sizing, care labelling and country of origin The aforementioned requirements are the present labelling requirements when exporting to the EU. However, as exporter to the EU, you also have to be aware of developments that may result in legislation in the near future. Ignorance of the labelling requirements can result in substantial fines or affect your trade to the EU in other ways. Sizing The sizing of clothes sold on the EU market tend to vary from country to country and even from store to store. This can be very confusing and therefore the textile industry in the EU is urging the European Commission (EC) to lay down legislation on standard sizing. At the moment the situation is precarious and it is not sure if or when the EC starts discussions on the matter. As long there is no legislation on the matter, it is recommended to use three European standards on clothes sizing which aim to establish a common sizing system: EN 13402-1:2001: Size designation of clothes Part 1: Terms, definitions and body measurement procedures (ISO 3635:1981 modified) EN 13402-2:2002: Size designation of clothes Part 2: Primary and secondary dimensions EN 13402-3:2001: Size designation of clothes Part 3: Measurements and intervals Although these standards are voluntary, they can be required by your EU buyer or commonly used in the market segment you are interested in. For information on the standards, use the search standards function on the website of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) in the external links section. For information on size marking and labelling of household and furnishing textiles, refer to the related document. Care labelling There is no EU-wide obligation to show instructions on how to wash and maintain textile products. However, many EU retailers voluntarily use care symbols instead of words. In any case, if care instructions or symbols are shown, they must be accurate. It is generally accepted that adequate care instructions must include information on the following:
general care and warnings washing drying ironing dry-cleaning As long as there is no uniform EU legislation on the matter, it is recommended to use the following European/international standard: EN ISO 3758:2005: Textiles Care labelling code using symbols (ISO 3758:2005) For more information on care labelling standards, refer to the website of CEN or GINETEX in the external links section. Country of Origin ( Made in label) At the moment, there are no legal requirements for producers of textile products to show the country of origin on the label. This means that you are not obliged to state the country where your textile products are made. However, developments on the issue are expected in the near future. The issue is brought to the attention of the EC and one EU Member State (Greece) has even laid down national legislation that requires country of origin labelling. As long as there is no EUwide legislation, it is left to the individual EU Member States to adopt national requirements. Refer to the competent authorities of the perceived EU Member State(s) for national requirements. For more information on the national competent authorities, refer to the Member States overview in the related document section. Beyond the minimum requirements This document has been set up to inform you about the EU legislation. While the EU legislation lays down some minimum requirements, there is nothing to prevent additional information being given on the labels of textile products, as along as it is accurate. Please note that EU buyers/retailers can apply their own criteria. Furthermore, you can choose to obtain private certification such as Fairtrade or Ecolabel. Textile products marked/labelled as such meet standards set by organisations that focus on specific qualities (such as environmental friendly or social accountability). These organisations certify that the producer and/or products meet the specific quality they stand for. An increasing number of EU buyers include (parts of) the criteria of these organisations in their own buying criteria. Therefore, obtaining a certificate can give you competitive advantage when exporting to the EU. For more information on EU buyer s requirements and certification for your products, refer to the related documents. Testing European legislation on labelling of textile products is closely related to Directive 96/73/EC. It specifies the methods of analysis to be used to check whether the composition of textile fibre mixtures is in conformity with the information supplied in the label. Note that your EU buyer will require that the materials delivered to him are tested according to European standards. Some EU buyers have more confidence in test reports from European-based
institutes. Having European test reports can therefore be an advantage when competing with other exporters. Naturally, testing by European institutes can be more expensive. It is therefore important to verify the EU demands on testing for your products. For information on Directive 96/73/EC, refer to the external links section. Last updated: March 2010