Clothing Labelling Requirements by Country: US, EU, UK, Canada and Australia

Every market has its own rules for what a clothing label must say, and they disagree on four things: fibre content, country of origin, care instructions and language. This guide gives the legal minimum for the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, verified against each regulator on 19 September 2026, so one label artwork per market clears.

What is the same everywhere?

Two things. Fibre content by generic name is required in four of the five markets and expected in the fifth, and whatever you print must be true: every one of these regimes treats a wrong fibre percentage or a false origin as a breach, and most of them place the responsibility on the importer or brand, not the factory. The label is sewn on our floor, but it is your artwork and your name on it, which is why we ask for the target markets before anything is printed.

What has to be on a label in the United States?

Three items by law under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, enforced by the FTC (Threading Your Way): the generic fibre names and percentages by weight in descending order; the country of origin, so Made in Bangladesh for anything cut and sewn here; and the identity of the manufacturer or importer, as a company name or an RN number issued by the FTC. A fourth requirement sits in a separate rule: the Care Labeling Rule, 16 CFR Part 423 (Clothes Captioning), requires permanent care instructions with a reasonable basis behind them, attached before the garment is sold in the US. Children's products under 12 add a permanent tracking label and a Children's Product Certificate; our children's clothing safety guide covers that separately.

What has to be on a label in the European Union?

Fibre composition under Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011: the name and percentage by weight of every constituent fibre in descending order (Article 9), on a durable, easily legible, visible and accessible label (Article 14), in uniform print and, under Article 16(3), in the official language or languages of the member state where the garment is sold. A range sold in Germany and France needs German and French. Country of origin is not required by that regulation, though customs paperwork states it and an origin claim you choose to print must be true. Since 13 December 2024 the General Product Safety Regulation adds the manufacturer's name, registered trade name or mark, and postal and electronic address on the product or its packaging, plus an EU-established responsible economic operator; our GPSR guide explains who that is. Care symbols are not compulsory under EU law, but retailers expect them.

What has to be on a label in the United Kingdom?

Fibre content, in English, on the item or its packaging, under the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012. Where a garment has components with different fibre contents, each is labelled separately, and decorative matter of 7% or less is excluded from the count. Trading Standards guidance (Business Companion) puts the responsibility on the manufacturer or the importer into the UK. Care labelling and country-of-origin marking are not required by those regulations, so the UK is the market where a care label is a retailer's expectation rather than the law, and any origin claim you print must still be accurate.

What has to be on a label in Canada?

Canada is the strictest of the five on format. Under the Textile Labelling Act and its Regulations, enforced by the Competition Bureau, a consumer textile article needs the generic name and percentage of every fibre making up 5% or more, in both English and French, and the dealer's name and postal address or a CA identification number. For clothing the label must be permanent enough to survive ten cleanings. Care instructions are voluntary under those regulations. Country of origin comes from customs law instead: CBSA Memorandum D11-3-1 requires apparel to be marked with its country of origin, in English or French, legibly and sufficiently permanently, and accepts the marking on the same label the Textile Labelling Act requires. Ours read Made in Bangladesh / Fabriqué au Bangladesh.

What has to be on a label in Australia?

Care instructions are the compulsory item: the Consumer Goods (Care Labelling) Information Standard 2023 requires clothing and household textiles to carry adequate care instructions in English, using the five international care symbols, or both, on a label attached to the item. Fibre content is not mandated by that standard, but any fibre claim must be accurate under the Australian Consumer Law. Country of origin is a border requirement: under the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act 1905 and the Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Regulation 2016, imported clothing must carry a true trade description including the country where it was made, in English, prominent and legible, at the time of import, and the Australian Border Force asks for it at the centre back of the garment. Goods that need the label and lack it can be seized.

The five markets side by side

How we label your garments

You tell us the markets; we build one label artwork per market, or one combined label where the rules allow it, and sew it in the position each market expects. We supply the fibre composition data behind the label from the fabric we actually used, the wash tests behind the care instructions on request, and, where you sell organic, the GOTS label wording confirmed in writing against certificate RSC 9687. What we cannot supply is your RN number, your CA number or your EU responsible person: those are yours to obtain, and we need them before the label goes to print. The tech pack checklist has a line for each.

One last point that catches new brands: a label that is legally complete can still be commercially wrong. Marketplaces and department stores add their own requirements, from size formats to barcode placement, and those come from your buyer, not from a regulator. Ask for the retailer's labelling manual before you approve artwork, not after the goods land.