Care text is not the brand mark
The US and EU compliance guide already separates the topics. For the United States it says federal textile labels generally identify fiber content, origin and the responsible business, and that care instructions sit under a separate rule and need a reasonable basis for the finished product. For the EU it says textile rules focus on fibre composition and any non-textile parts of animal origin, and that Regulation (EU) 1007/2011 does not itself cover care, size or country-of-origin labels. Do not fold those sentences into one universal label.
A catalog title is not a care label. Cotton, modal, bamboo and a marketing line such as ice silk are requests until the cloth that will be sampled is named. The modal-versus-cotton note and the bamboo-fiber note say how to write that cloth. The brand mark — a waistband logo, a side label or a hangtag — is specified in the branding guide. It can share a label with care text, or sit somewhere else. Say which.
- Care: the instruction for the finished garment, matched to the wash you will actually use.
- Fiber and origin: the composition of the cloth that was sampled, and the origin statement your importer accepts.
- Brand: the logo or name you own or are licensed to use. A word in a catalog photo is not that name.
Destination marking is text you send
The factory can place the words you approve. It should not invent them. Each destination brief on this site says the same thing in its own words: send the label, care or import-marking text your importer or adviser has already identified. None of those pages is a finished label.
| Destination | What the published page already says | What this page does not add |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Send the label, care and testing points your importer has identified. The compliance guide compares US and EU topics. | A US label template or a duty rate. |
| European Union | Name the member state. Consumer-label language follows the country of sale. Do not copy a US label and assume it is the EU wording. | A label that covers every member state. |
| United Kingdom | Do not copy a US or EU label and assume it is the UK wording. Say if Northern Ireland is the market. | United Kingdom wording written on this page. |
| Australia | Send the care-label or import-marking text your adviser has already checked. The Australia destination brief does not publish a label template. | An Australian label template or a duty rate. |
| Canada | Send any label language your importer applies. This site does not invent a bilingual label. | A Canadian label rule. |
What sample approval covers
The first-order tech pack checklist locks which information must appear, and where. On the sample it checks wording and comfort. It leaves the importer’s final legal check open. The quality page uses the same split: compare the sample with the named artwork version, the placement and the label text, and keep approval pending until a wrong line is corrected.
- The sample can show that the text matches the version you sent, that it sits where you asked, and that it is still readable after the wash you agreed.
- It can show whether a sewn label is stiff against the skin, or whether a printed line cracks. That is a comfort and durability check, not a legal clearance.
- A logo strike-off does not approve fiber or care text that was not on that strike-off.
- A washed sample does not, by itself, prove the care instruction has a reasonable basis. The compliance guide says that basis is a separate record for a US care label.
- The factory page asks for the destination and any market-specific documents in the brief. Those documents are confirmed for the order. They are not supplied by this page.
The garment label and the pack are different surfaces
The packaging guide says care instructions normally sit on the garment label and are repeated on the pack only if the retailer asks. A retail bag is one folded garment, usually with a sticker or insert, and the size and barcode need to be readable. A multipack is several garments in one bag, box or band, with its own barcode and the count and assortment written on the pack. A photograph of several bodies is not that pack. Bulk packing has no retail bag; the garment label is still required.
Do not treat the pack as a substitute for the garment label unless your importer has said the destination and the channel allow it. Write garment quantities and pack quantities on separate lines, as the multipack note already asks.
A size name on the label is not the grade
The size-grading guide says the body chart shoppers see and the finished measurements the factory sews are two documents. A letter on a label is not a grade, and United States, United Kingdom and European Union size names are not the same convention. Bring the chart you sell. The tech pack guide is where the points of measure sit. This page does not add a size chart.
What to lock on a first order
- Name the destination country, and the channel. For the EU, name the member state.
- List care text, fiber and origin text, and the brand mark as separate lines. Mark any line your importer has not checked yet.
- Say whether the first sample includes the label and the pack. A plain body does not approve either.
- Attach the size chart you sell, and point at the grade rather than at a letter on the label.
- Name who may approve the pre-production sample, and who still has to accept the legal wording.
Common questions
Does approving the sample clear the care label for my market?
No. The sample checks that the wording matches the version you sent, that it is placed where you asked, and that it stays readable and comfortable after the wash you agreed. The importer’s legal check stays open, which is how the first-order checklist already treats it.
Can the care label copy the catalog title?
No. Confirm the cloth that will be sampled, then ask your importer which fiber names that cloth may use. A marketing line on a hang card is not the care text.
Is one label enough for the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and the EU?
No. Those destinations do not share one wording. The compliance guide compares US and EU topics. The destination briefs say what to send for each country, including the EU member state. None of them is a finished label.
Does a retail bag replace the care label?
Not by default. Care text normally sits on the garment and is repeated on the pack only if the retailer asks. A multipack is a different pack from a single retail bag, and bulk packing still needs the garment label.
Ready to brief a style?
Send a reference garment or sketch, the quantities you are considering and your destination. The quotation will state what is included and how minimums are counted.