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

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? © Folens 2009

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. © Folens 2009

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. © Folens 2009

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. © Folens 2009

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. © Folens 2009

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 . © Folens 2009

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. © Folens 2009

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. © Folens 2009

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. © Folens 2009

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. © Folens 2009

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. © Folens 2009

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. © Folens 2009

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. © Folens 2009

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. © Folens 2009

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. © Folens 2009

Task 2: product analysis Which of these labels have to be used by law on textiles products and which are voluntary? © Folens 2009