What has to be there,
and what merely should be
British labelling law is narrower than most importers expect. One element is genuinely compulsory for ordinary adult clothing; the rest are either commercially essential, conditionally required, or simply good practice. Knowing which is which stops you either breaking the rules or paying for things you do not need.
| Element | Status | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Fibre composition | Required by law | Percentages by weight, descending order, in the permitted English generic names. Also required in the online product description. |
| Care instructions | Not statutory, commercially essential | No serious retailer takes a garment without them, and they protect you against misuse claims. |
| Country of origin | Not generally mandatory, but must be true | Required by the customs entry in any case and expected by every UK retailer. State it. |
| Size | Not mandatory | Voluntary, but publish real measurements or your return rate will tell you why you should have. |
| Business identity | Expected | A brand name and contact route so a product can be traced back to a responsible person. |
| Non-textile parts of animal origin | Required when present | Leather trims, horn buttons, fur or feather need the prescribed declaration. |
| UKCA marking | Required if the garment is PPE | High-visibility, protective or safety garments are a different regulatory category entirely. |
Use the legal name,
not the trade name
This single table prevents more label rejections than anything else on this page. The left column is what a factory tech pack or an American supplier will often write. The right column is what the label must say.
| Commonly written as | Correct on a UK label | Where it turns up in our range |
|---|---|---|
| Nylon | Polyamide | Shell fabrics, ripstop, linings, packs |
| Spandex, Lycra | Elastane | Stretch trousers, softshell, base layers |
| Rayon | Viscose | Shirt fabrics, linings |
| Poly, PET | Polyester | Almost everything technical |
| Merino | Wool (merino may be added) | Base layers and mid-layers |
| Fleece | Not a fibre — declare the fibre | Fleece is a construction, usually 100% polyester |
| Cotton drill, canvas, moleskin | Cotton | Shooting vests, moleskin trousers, waxed shells |
| Tweed | Declare the actual blend | Tweed-look wovens are usually polyester or a wool blend |
List fibres by weight in descending order, each with its percentage. A single-fibre garment may be described as 100%, pure or all — those three words are reserved for exactly that case and must not be used loosely.
A limited manufacturing tolerance applies to the declared percentages, in the region of three percentage points. It is a tolerance for real variation in production, not licence to round a blend to whatever sounds better. We label to the mill’s tested composition.
Where a garment has parts with different compositions — a shell and a separate lining, or a contrast panel — each part is declared. Linings, waddings and trims all have their own treatment, so send us the full construction and we will draft the wording.
Five symbols,
always in the same order
The care symbol system is standardised and the sequence is fixed. Printing them out of order is a small thing that immediately marks a range as amateur to a buyer.
Machine or hand wash with the maximum temperature, or a crossed tub for do not wash. Bars beneath the tub indicate a gentler mechanical action. For waxed cotton the honest symbol is do not wash, with a written reproofing instruction alongside.
Open triangle for any bleach, two diagonal lines for oxygen bleach only, crossed for none. Most technical outerwear is do not bleach.
Tumble drying and natural drying both live here. Membranes and waddings usually take a low-heat tumble, which is worth stating because it restores the water-repellent finish.
Dots for temperature, crossed for do not iron. A laminated softshell or a taped seam garment should normally be do not iron, and saying so prevents a delaminated jacket coming back to you.
Dry cleaning and professional wet cleaning. Relevant for tweed and wool pieces; usually crossed out on technical shells.
Four categories with
rules of their own
Covered by the Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985, which impose flammability performance and prescribed warning wording. This constrains fabric choice, so raise it at the design stage rather than at the label stage.
A separate safety standard restricts where cords may be placed on children’s clothing and how long they may be. It affects hoods, waists and hems — in other words, the pattern.
If a garment is sold as protective equipment it falls under the UK PPE regime and needs UKCA marking, a declaration of conformity and type examination. A hi-vis beaters coat sold for visibility is a very different proposition to one sold as a bright coat.
Leather trims, horn or bone buttons, fur, down and feather all trigger a required declaration on the label. Down and feather also carry their own content and cleanliness expectations from serious retailers.
Labels made at the factory,
not stuck on in a warehouse
Every label in a garment is produced here to your artwork and sewn in before the goods are packed. Relabelling a delivered order in the UK costs several times what the labels did, and it is the avoidable expense we see new brands hit most often.
| Label | Usual construction | Carries |
|---|---|---|
| Main brand label | Woven damask or satin, centre-fold or end-fold | Brand name or logo |
| Care and composition label | Printed satin or woven, side seam or under the main label | Fibre composition, care symbols, written care line, country of origin |
| Size label | Woven or printed, separate or combined with the main label | UK size, with chest or waist measurement where the trade expects it |
| Swing ticket | Card with a string or safety pin, one or two sides | Brand story, barcode, price, reproofing or care guidance |
| Polybag and carton marking | Printed sticker to your format | Style, colour, size, barcode, carton contents |
What brands get wrong
Is fibre composition labelling compulsory in the UK?
Can I write nylon and spandex on the label?
Does the label have to say where the garment was made?
Are care symbols legally required?
What about childrenswear?
Do you produce the labels or do I have to supply them?
Want your labels built in?
Send your artwork or just your brand name. We produce woven main labels, care labels, size labels and swing tickets to UK wording as part of the order, not as an extra.