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The Importance of Textile Labels

  • Consumer Information and Transparency: Textile labels are crucial for providing consumers with accurate information about the composition and origin of the products they purchase. This transparency enables informed choices and fosters trust between brands and consumers.
  • Compliance with EU Regulations: The EU mandates textile labels to ensure fair trade practices and consumer protection. These labels help enforce compliance with regulations regarding fiber composition, origin, and potential use of hazardous substances.
  • Facilitating Circularity: As the EU transitions towards a more circular economy for textiles, labels play a vital role in providing information necessary for repair, recycling, and waste management. Knowing the fiber composition is essential for sorting and processing textiles at their end of life.
  • Foundation for the Digital Product Passport: The sources highlight the EU's plan to introduce a Digital Product Passport for textile products, expanding on the information provided on physical labels. The physical label can serve as a gateway to the digital passport, enabling consumers and other stakeholders to access more detailed information about a product's lifecycle and sustainability credentials.
  • Supporting Market Surveillance: Authorities rely on textile labels for market surveillance purposes, ensuring that products comply with EU regulations. Labels allow for verification of fiber content claims, identification of non-compliant products, and enforcement of fair trade practices.

Key Information on Textile Labels

  • Mandatory for Consumer Sales: Textile labels are obligatory for products intended for sale directly to consumers within the EU.
  • Fiber Composition and Origin: The label must clearly state the composition of textile fibers used in the product, listed in descending order of percentage. They must also indicate any non-textile parts of animal origin.
  • Clarity and Legibility: Information on the label must be easily understandable and legible, using a consistent font, size, and style. Translations into the official languages of the EU countries where the product is sold might be necessary.
  • Separation from Care Instructions: Information about textile composition should be clearly separated from any other details, such as product care instructions.
  • Accuracy and Verification: National authorities can conduct checks at various points in the supply chain to verify the accuracy of information provided on textile labels.

Evolving Role of Textile Labels

With the forthcoming EU legislation on sustainable textiles, labels are expected to play an even more significant role. As the industry shifts toward greater transparency and circularity, labels will likely evolve to include additional information related to:

  • Durability and Reparability: Labels might need to feature information about a garment's expected lifespan, repairability score, or the availability of spare parts.
  • Recycled Content: Clear labeling of recycled content will be crucial, informing consumers about the use of recycled fibers and promoting circular manufacturing practices.
  • Presence of Hazardous Substances: The EU aims to minimize the use of hazardous substances in textiles. Labels might be required to disclose the presence of any such substances, aligning with the objectives of the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability.

In summary, textile labels are essential for ensuring transparency, compliance, and informed consumer choices in the fashion industry. The EU's push for a more sustainable and circular textile sector will likely lead to an expanded role for labels, incorporating more comprehensive information about a product's lifecycle and environmental impact.