DEMO — fictional range. Local brief only, NOT SENT. No personal data is collected or transmitted.
CARE
The care label is a legal document.
A care label states the fibre content and the treatment the garment will survive. In most markets both are regulated, and a label that overstates either is a compliance problem rather than a design one.
- Fibre content
- Names and percentages, in the required order and wording
- Care symbols
- A defined set, in a defined order, not a translation of words
- Wash temperature
- The highest the garment survives, tested rather than assumed
- Drying
- Because tumble drying is what shrinks most garments
- Ironing
- A temperature, and whether it may be applied directly
- Origin
- Where the garment was made, in the required form
- Language
- Which languages the market requires, and in what order
- Durability
- That the label survives the washing it describes
Illustrative care record
| Test | What it establishes | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensional stability | How much it shrinks, and in which direction | Measured before and after the stated wash |
| Colour fastness | Whether it bleeds or fades | Washed, and compared against a standard |
| Appearance after wash | Whether it pills, twists or loses shape | Assessed against a reference |
| Label durability | Whether the care text is still readable | Washed with the garment, then read |
Why the label is washed with the garment.
Because a care label that becomes unreadable after the wash it describes has failed at the only moment it was needed. It is a small test that is frequently skipped.
The question worth asking instead.
What the measured shrinkage was, and at which wash. A supplier who can answer that has tested the garment rather than copied a label from a similar one.