Textile labeling requirement

First of all, an overview of what should be marked and what should not be marked:

What does the Textile Labeling Act require?

The Textile Labeling Act prescribes how the various fibers that make up textile products must be identified to consumers.

What is a textile product?

According to the Textile Labeling Act (TextilKennzG), a textile product is a product that has at least 80% of its weight made from textile raw materials. This 80% clause also serves to cover textile products that do not consist entirely of textile raw materials, such as knitwear with leather trimmings. However, this foreign content must under no circumstances exceed 20% of the total weight of the product.

Textile raw materials

Textile raw materials are fibers including animal hair that can be spun or processed into textile fabrics, as well as flexible tapes and tubes with a normal width of no more than 5mm.

Non-marking items

There are a total of 43 products that do not need to be labeled. This includes, among other things, materials for reinforcements and stiffeners, used ready-made textiles, hats made of felt or even zippers.

What must be on the label?

Fiber composition

The law requires that the type of fiber and its proportion in the textile product be stated. This information must be presented in descending order. It is not permitted to use brand names (such as Trevira instead of Polyester). In addition, the information must be listed in percent.

Correctly label fiber composition

• Labeling of 100% pure textile products
  If only one fiber was used for the textile product, it may bear the designation “100%”, “pure” or “whole”, for example 100% cotton for a T-shirt made solely from cotton.

• Labeling of multi-fiber textile products
  If, however, several different fibers were used for a textile product, it is a multi-fiber textile product. In this case, all fibers contained must be listed in descending order of their proportion in the total weight of the textile product. In addition, the respective share of the total weight must be stated in percent. It is important that the correct order is followed. For example, if a shirt is made of ¾ cotton and ¼ polyester, the textile labeling is as follows:
  75% cotton
  25% polyester

• Labeling of multi-component textile products
  Multi-component textile products are textile products that consist of several components, for example an outer fabric and a lining material. These different components have different textile fiber contents, so they have to be named individually for each component. For example, if we want to label a coat that consists of an outer fabric and a lining fabric and both components are made up of different textile fiber contents, a correct labeling would look like this:
  Outer fabric: 85% virgin wool
  15% polyacrylic Lining
  fabric: 80% viscose
  20% polyester

Manufacturer

In addition, the manufacturer of the textile product must be stated on the label in the form of a contact address with name, street, house number, postal code and city.

Language to use

The information on the label must be provided in the official language. Sales in Germany must therefore provide all information in German, but additional information in foreign languages ​​is also permitted.

Additional markings

The literal addition “contains non-textile parts of animal origin” must be stated if a textile product contains non-textile parts of animal origin (such as fur or leather). The law stipulates that even the smallest quantities, such as buttons, must be labeled.
The term “other fibers” must be used if the proportion of the fiber accounts for up to 5% of the total weight or if several fibers account for up to 15% and are not listed in Annex I of the EU Textile Labeling Regulation. ( https://www.haendlerbund.de/de/downloads/textilkennzeichen-fibrobezeichenen-eu-verfassung-1007-2011.pdf )

Designation of origin and care instructions

Designations of origin (Made in…) are voluntary within the European Union. Outside the European Union, the designation of origin is often mandatory information.

Care instructions are not mandatory, but many companies provide them voluntarily. And help consumers clean their textiles properly.

Why and where care symbols should be provided voluntarily

Care symbols are intended to make it easier for consumers to care for their textiles. It is questionable to what extent the consumer can conclude that his textiles have been cleaned correctly if he only has the material composition. If manufacturers provide care instructions, they should attach them to the textile product close to the raw material composition so that they are easy for the consumer to find.
As long as the raw material content information is clearly separated from the care instructions, the law also allows both information to be displayed on one label.

What are care symbols?

A care symbol is a pictogram, i.e. a simplified graphic representation that is intended to convey information. In this case, manufacturers want to provide consumers with information about the recommended treatment of textiles in terms of washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional cleaning.
In order to use the care symbols, a license from an international member organization of GINETEX is required. The currently internationally valid standard for care labeling is ISO 3758, which ensures that care labeling can be carried out uniformly worldwide.

What do the care symbols indicate?

The care symbols indicate the maximum permissible type of treatment that the textile can withstand in the long term. The bars under the care symbols indicate particularly gentle treatment; a cross prohibits this type of treatment completely.