Care Labels and Clothing Compliance: The Basics for New Brands
By The Velocity Wear Team
Clothing sold to consumers in the UK must carry fibre composition information, and care instructions are standard commercial practice. If you replace manufacturer labelling with your own branding, that information still needs to be provided — commonly on a separate care label in the side seam.
A Note on Scope
This is an overview to help you know what to look into, not legal advice. Requirements change and vary by market, and the responsibility sits with whoever places the product on the market — which is you if you are selling under your own brand. Check current guidance on GOV.UK, and take proper advice if you are selling at scale or exporting, where additional and different rules can apply.
Fibre Composition
The core requirement in the UK and much of Europe is that textile products carry accurate fibre composition information — what the garment is actually made of, by percentage. This is why you see labels reading 100% cotton or 65% polyester, 35% cotton. It has to be accurate, it has to use recognised fibre names, and it generally has to be attached to the garment rather than only stated on a website.
Care Instructions
Care labelling is standard commercial practice and expected by customers, and it protects you as much as them.
- Washing temperature — for printed garments, 30 degrees is the usual recommendation.
- Whether the garment can be tumble dried, and at what heat. For most printed clothing the answer is better not to.
- Ironing guidance, including the important instruction to iron inside out and avoid the print directly.
- Bleaching and dry cleaning guidance where relevant.
- Care symbols are widely used and internationally recognised, though plain text is clearer for most customers.
If You Remove Manufacturer Labels
Many brands replace the manufacturer's neck label with their own, using tear-away labels or a neck print, because a blank supplier's branding inside your garment undermines the product. That is entirely normal — but the compulsory information does not disappear with the label. The usual solution is a separate printed care and composition label stitched into the side seam, carrying the fibre content, care instructions and your brand details.
“"Replacing the label is a branding decision. Replacing the information on it is a compliance one."”
Other Considerations
Some categories carry additional requirements worth knowing about. Children's clothing has specific safety considerations, particularly around cords and drawstrings. Anything sold as personal protective equipment — including certified hi-vis — is regulated separately, and decoration that covers reflective or fluorescent material can affect whether a garment still meets its standard. If you are selling into either category, check the specific requirements rather than assuming general clothing rules apply.
Practical Steps
Record the exact fibre composition of every garment you order as part of your specification, so labelling and product descriptions are accurate rather than approximate. Orders start at 20 pieces with mixed sizes allowed, which makes a first run a natural point to confirm composition and test how the garment behaves in a wash before you commit to volume and to printed labelling.