1. Textile labelling Learning ladder You must:
identify a range of labels found on products.
summarise care labels.
You should:
link types of labels to different products and vice versa.
design care labels and swing tickets.
You could:
understand industrial practice linked labelling (including being able to list labels required by law).
describe how labels can be used as a marketing tool.
Please confirm that the wording of the ‘You could’ bullet point is as you want it – it seems like some text may be missing at present.
© Folens 2009

2. Introduction
Look at a range of textiles products and collect/draw/photograph.
Look at the different types of permanent and temporary labels they have attached to them.
What type of information do the labels have on them?
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3. Textile labelling
Textiles products have permanent labels sewn into them. They also have card swing tags temporarily attached when being sold.
A label on a textiles product might give the following information:
Legal requirements
Fibre content (including brand trademarks, e.g. 100% cotton)
Country of origin
Product details, e.g. size, style
Safety advice
Barcode and price
Care information
Manufacturer’s promotional material/logo
Other information, e.g. environmental information.
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4. Permanent labels – fibre content
It is the law that any product made out of textiles materials must have the main fibre stated on a permanent label in the product.
The proper chemical name must be given and not a trade name.
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5. Permanent labels – safety information
Children’s nightdresses and dressing gowns have to be flame retardant by law and must have labels that say ‘Keep away from fire’.
All new furniture and covers for furniture as well as soft furnishing fillings have to, by law, carry permanent labels that meet BS 5852.
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6. Permanent labels – care labels
Care labels are placed on products to tell us how to look after them.
There is an International Textile Care Labelling Code (ITCLC) that gives standardized symbols a manufacturer can use. This is a voluntary code but most companies use it.
The ITCLC code refers to how a product should be washed, ironed, dried and bleached.
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7. The International Textile Care Labelling Code (1)
Washing
The more dots in the wash tub the higher the water temperature.
Line/broken line under wash tub indicates that agitation in the machine should be reduced/much reduced.
A hand in the wash tub means hand wash only.
A cross through a symbol indicates it should not be done .
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8. The International Textile Care Labelling Code (2)
Drying
The circle in the square indicates the item can be tumble dried – the more dots the higher heat.
Lines under the dryer mean agitation should be reduced.
The flat line means dry flat.
The three lines mean drip dry.
The curved line means line dry.
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9. The International Textile Care Labelling Code (3)
Ironing
The more dots in the iron the higher the temperature can be.
Bleaching
Indicates if chlorine bleach can be used.
Dry cleaning
The letter indicates the dry cleaning solution that can be used.
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10. Task 1: designing
Design the care label that might be attached to the following products.
A man’s woollen suit
100% cotton duvet cover
Polyester cotton shirt with an easy care fabric finish
Children’s cotton socks with an anti-bacterial finish
Acrylic teddy with sound module inside
Choose one of the products and design a swing ticket that would give all the basic information needed to sell the product as well as promotional information to attract buyers.
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11. Swing tickets – safety labels
All new furniture that uses any textile materials have to by law carry swing ticket labels to indicate the product meets BS 5852 which indicates the fabrics are resistant to fire.
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12. Swing tickets – standards information
The British Standards Institute (BSI) is an independent body that develops and publishes British standards for designing and manufacturing. There are over 20,000 BSI standards and some are voluntary and others are law. Companies pay to have their products tested and are then able to use the BSI Kitemark on their product.
The CE marking is a declaration by a manufacturer that a product meets appropriate European legislation. The mark gives companies easier access into the European market to sell their products without adaptation or rechecking. The mark is not automatically a guarantee of safety.
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13. Swing tickets – environmental information
As well as the standard recycling logo the European eco label exists to help consumers identify environmentally friendly products.
If a product carries the label it shows that the company is complying with strict ecological and performance criteria.
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14. Swing tickets – other information
Swing tickets tend to have promotional information relating to the products as well as information on the price, and so on.
Swing tickets can be made from of card, leather, plastic or fabric.
A product might have several types of swing tickets giving different types of information.
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15. Smart tags (1)
Most products have barcodes on them and these are scanned as you purchase products.
These tell the retailer information about the product, where it is sold, the price, and so on.
This information enables the company’s head office to keep accurate records of products that have been sold.
Barcodes are also used in warehouses to help track fabrics and stock.
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16. Smart tags (2)
Radio Frequency Identification Tagging (RTFI) is different from barcodes as the tags are ‘smart’ and can be reprogrammed and updated, which makes them environmentally friendly.
The tags also don’t have to be scanned but can be read by radio frequencies and large numbers of products can be read at once.
Some RTFI systems have their own power sources and can communicate with other devices.
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17. Task 2: product analysis
Which of these labels have to be used by law on textiles products and which are voluntary?
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