FTC Care Labeling Rule Requirements
What does the FTC care labeling rule require?
The FTC Care Labeling Rule (16 CFR Part 423) applies to manufacturers and importers of textile wearing apparel and certain piece goods. They must give buyers regular care instructions at the time of sale, usually on a permanent label [1]. The instructions must be accurate, complete enough for ordinary use, warn about any normal procedure that would cause harm, and be backed by a reasonable basis held before sale.
Approach: I read the current eCFR text of 16 CFR Part 423, sections 423.1 to 423.10. I did not pull the Appendix A glossary of terms.
Who is covered and what products
- Who: Manufacturers and importers, including any person who "directs or controls the manufacture or importation" of covered products [2].
- Textile wearing apparel: Finished garments, including hosiery. Footwear, gloves, hats and other items used only to cover or protect the head or hands are excluded [3].
- Certain piece goods: Fabric sold by the piece from bolts or rolls for home sewing. This includes cut remnants whose fibre content is known. It excludes manufacturers' remnants up to ten yards that are clearly marked as pound goods or of undetermined origin, and trim up to five inches wide [4].
What counts as a violation (§ 423.5)
It is an unfair or deceptive practice for a manufacturer or importer to:
- fail to disclose, before sale, the regular care procedure needed for ordinary use [5];
- fail to warn when the product cannot be cleaned by any method without harm [6];
- fail to warn when any part of the prescribed procedure that a consumer or professional cleaner could reasonably be expected to use would harm the product or others cleaned with it [7];
- fail to give the instructions in a form the consumer can refer to for the product's useful life (piece goods excepted) [8];
- fail to have a reasonable basis, before sale, for all care information disclosed [9].
If you meet §§ 423.2 and 423.6 to 423.8, you do not violate the rule [10].
The label itself (apparel, § 423.6)
- Permanence: The label must be permanent, stay attached and remain legible for the product's useful life [11].
- Visibility at sale: Labels must be easy to see or find when the product is offered for sale. If packaging or folding hides the label, the care information must also appear on the outside of the package or on a hang tag [12].
- Washing or drycleaning: In general the label must carry either a washing or a drycleaning instruction. One is enough if both methods work. If the product cannot be cleaned by any method without harm, the label "must so state" [13].
- Washing: State hand or machine wash and a water temperature. The temperature may be omitted only if regular use of hot water up to 145°F (63°C) will not harm the product [14].
- Drying: State machine drying or another method. For machine drying, give a temperature unless regular high heat is safe [15].
- Ironing: Mention it only if it is regularly needed to keep the product's appearance, or if a warning requires it. If you mention ironing, give a temperature unless a hot iron is safe [16].
- Bleach:
- Washing warnings: Warnings must use "Do not," "No," "Only" or other clear wording [20]. You do not need to warn against alternatives to the prescribed procedure [21].
- Drycleaning:
Reasonable basis (§ 423.6(c))
You "must establish a reasonable basis" for the care information before sale [24]. Acceptable evidence is any of the following:
- the product was not harmed when cleaned as labelled, including what silence on the label implies [25];
- the product was harmed by the methods warned against [26];
- evidence for each component together with evidence for the garment as a whole [27];
- tests on the product or a fair sample [28];
- technical literature, past experience or industry expertise [29];
- other reliable evidence [30].
Piece goods (§ 423.7)
Care information must be given "clearly and conspicuously on the end of each bolt or roll" [31]. It must follow the § 423.6 content rules but need only cover the fabric [32].
Terms and symbols
- Terms: Any terms may be used if they describe regular care clearly and accurately [33]. The Appendix A terminology "may be used" to meet the requirements [34].
- Symbols: Any appropriate symbols may be added alongside the required terms [35]. ASTM D5489-96c symbols may be used instead of terms, as long as they meet Part 423 [36].
Exemptions (§ 423.8)
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Reversible garments: Totally reversible apparel without pockets is exempt from the care label [37].
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Exemption on request: You can apply in writing to the Secretary of the Commission if a label would harm the product's appearance or usefulness. The request must include a labelled sample and a full statement of reasons [38].
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Care information still required: For both of these exemptions, consumers "still must be given" the care information, on a hang tag, the package or another conspicuous place [39].
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"Wash or dry clean, any normal method": No permanent label is needed if there is reliable proof that the product survives all of these:
- hot machine washing;
- high machine drying;
- hot ironing;
- all bleaches;
- all drycleaning solvents.
The statement "wash or dry clean, any normal method" must then appear on a hang tag, the package or another conspicuous place. This exemption is automatic and needs no filing [40][41].
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Institutional buyers: No care information is needed for products sold to institutional buyers for commercial use [42].
Relationship to other rules
Where Part 423 conflicts with regulations under the Flammable Fabrics Act, the flammability rules prevail [43].