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On July 1, 1997 the Federal Trade Commission adopted a conditional exemption to the Care Label Rule that allows you to use symbols instead of words on care labels. For the first eighteen months of this exemption period, through December, 1998, if you use symbols without words on your care labels you must provide consumers with written explanations for the symbols used on the care label on some other medium such as hang tags and package inserts. |
Why should we use care
symbols instead of words?
For consumers care symbols
make sense. Symbols provide the
same information to everyone
without language barriers. Using
symbols allows for smaller, more
comfortable care labels. Smaller
labels also cost less and this could
translate into consumer savings.
The symbols are easy to under-stand
with just five basic symbols.
Dots add temperature to the
procedure, underlining (or minus
signs) reduce appliance action.
For manufacturers care
symbols make even more sense.
When harmonized with other
countries, symbols will allow
participation in a global market-place
where symbols will clearly
communicate the same infor-mation
in all countries. Smaller
labels cost less to buy or manu-facture
and also cost less to
inventory. Total inventory is fur-ther
reduced by eliminating the
need for different labels for dif-ferent
countries. The ASTM care
symbols are free of trademark and
user fees. The
ASTM symbol system is unique
in that it includes a symbol for
“Non-chlorine Bleach”, eliminating
the need for this most common
instruction in three languages.
Are the ASTM symbols global?
These symbols are acceptable
for trade with our NAFTA trading
partners, but are not yet fully
adopted for use
globally. The ASTM
symbol system
approved by the FTC
was designed to meet
the requirements of
the U.S. Care Label
Rule. The current
European system
does not provide
symbols for all the
information
required by the
Federal Care Label
Rule. U.S. represen-tatives
are meeting
with ISO to add the
necessary symbols
to their system to
harmonize the
international
standard with the
ASTM standard.
Those negotia-tions
are moving
ahead. For now,
however, only the
ASTM symbols can be used
in the United States.
Do we have to use
symbols?
No. The conditional
exemption to the Care
Label Rule allows you to use
symbols in lieu of words. It does
not require you to use symbols.
Can we use symbols and
words on our care label?
Yes. And if you do use both
symbols and the associated words
on your permanent care labels
you do not need to add other
explanatory tags or inserts as
long as the words on the label
explain all of the symbols used
on the label.
What about instructions
that don’t have symbols?
Use words. The ASTM standard
includes symbols for all the infor-mation
required by the Federal
Care Label Rule. If you want to
provide more information that is
not represented by a symbol you
must use words. Instructions such
as “Wash Before Wearing”, “Wash
Separately First Laundering” and
“Wash With Like Colors” may be
important, but are not required by
the Rule. If you do provide addi-tional
instructions in words on
garments intended for NAFTA
trade the additional instructions
still need to be in three languages.
Where can I get
the symbols?
Textile Industry
Affairs has created
and maintains an
internet web site with
all the FTC approved
care symbols and many
related care label rule
documents. Call or
email Textile Industry
Affairs and request a
complete information
packet with approved
symbols charts.
We also urge you to
purchase the latest
Annual Book of ASTM
Standards, Volume 07.02.
which contains The
official ASTM Standard
Guide for Care Symbols
for Care Instructions
(for) Textile Products
directly from ASTM at
(610) 832-9500, or by
fax at (610) 832-9555.
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