Textile composition labelling: what is mandatory and what isn't

What the composition label has to say

The rule is Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011, which applies directly throughout the Union. It covers any product with at least 80% textile fibres by weight: clothing, scarves, fabric bags, household textiles. It requires four things:

• Official fibre names. Only the names in Annex I of the Regulation are valid: cotton, flax, wool, silk, viscose, polyester, polyamide, elastane, acrylic, lyocell… Trade names on their own («Lycra», «Tencel») and invented terms («technical fabric») are not valid: they can accompany the official name, not replace it.
• Percentage by weight of each fibre, in descending order. For example: «65% polyester, 32% viscose, 3% elastane».
• No abbreviations. «CO», «PES» or «EL» are not acceptable for consumers.
• In the official language of the country where it is sold. Each Member State decides which: in Spain, Spanish; in France, French; in Germany and Austria, German; in Italy, Italian; in the Netherlands, Dutch; in Portugal, Portuguese; in Belgium, the language or languages of the region where it is sold. You can add other languages.

Fibre names in Werop's languages

The names are those in Annex I of the Regulation, which has an official version in each EU language. This table lists the most common fibres in fashion in the languages of the countries where Werop will open (English, for Ireland). In Belgium the label goes in the language of the region: French, Dutch or, in the German-speaking area, German; in Austria, German.

«Lining» is not a fibre, but it appears on almost every label for garments with several parts. The mandatory phrase for parts of animal origin, in each language:

• English (Ireland): «Contains non-textile parts of animal origin»
• French: «Contient des parties non textiles d’origine animale»
• German: «Enthält nichttextile Teile tierischen Ursprungs»
• Italian: «Contiene parti non tessili di origine animale»
• Dutch: «Bevat niet-textieldelen van dierlijke oorsprong»
• Portuguese: «Contém partes não têxteis de origem animal»

«100%», «pure» and small amounts

• «100%», «pure» or «all» are only used if the garment is made of a single fibre. Up to 2% of extraneous fibres (5% in carded products) is tolerated when technically unavoidable, not when added on purpose.
• Fibres that each weigh less than 5%, or less than 15% together, can be grouped as «other fibres».
• A manufacturing tolerance of 3% is allowed between what you declare and what an analysis would show.

Garments with several parts

If the garment has components with different compositions — a coat with its lining, a dress with a bodice and skirt in different fabrics — you state the composition of each part: «Shell: 80% wool, 20% polyamide. Lining: 100% viscose». This is not needed for components other than the main lining that weigh less than 30% of the total.

Fur, feathers, mother-of-pearl buttons

If a textile garment has non-textile parts of animal origin (a fur collar, feather filling, leather patches, mother-of-pearl or horn buttons) the label must include the literal phrase «Contains non-textile parts of animal origin» (in Spain, «Contiene partes no textiles de origen animal»).

Examples: good and bad labels

Six labels like the ones we see every day from small brands, with what is wrong with each.

What the label has to be like

Durable, legible, visible and securely attached to the garment: sewn in or printed on the inside. A hanging cardboard tag is not enough on its own, because it is removed before first use. There is no mandatory size or format.

If you sell online: the composition also goes on the product page

The Regulation requires the composition to be available to the shopper before purchase, including when the purchase is made electronically. In other words: it is not enough for the label to be on the garment that will arrive at their home; the product page has to say «72% cotton, 28% flax» in full.

Footwear follows different rules

Footwear is not labelled by fibre but by material, under Directive 94/11/EC, which each country has transposed into its own law (in Spain, Royal Decree 1718/1995). You must state, with the official pictograms or in text, what each of its three parts is made of — upper, lining and insole, and sole — choosing between leather, coated leather, textile or other materials. You declare the material that makes up at least 80% of each part. The label goes on at least one of the two shoes. The pictograms are the same throughout the EU; if you use text, it has to be in the language required by the country where you sell.

Who is responsible: the manufacturer's details

Since 13 December 2024 the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 has applied. Every consumer product must show the manufacturer's name or brand and their postal and email address, as well as a reference that allows the product to be identified (model, batch or serial number). If you sell online, those details must also appear in the offer. If you manufacture your own brand, the manufacturer is you.

What isn't mandatory (although almost everyone includes it)

• Washing and care symbols. Voluntary, but highly recommended.
• Country of manufacture. Not mandatory in the EU. If you include it, it must be true.
• Size. No rule requires it, but without a size you won't sell.

The most common mistakes

• Rounding up to «100%». A little elastane or polyester counts; you can only leave out what falls within the tolerance for unavoidable extraneous fibres.
• Percentages that don't add up to 100 or are out of order.
• Using the brand instead of the fibre («Lycra», «Tencel», «Coolmax») or a made-up name («technical fabric», «vegan silk», «vegan leather»).
• «Bamboo», «soy» or «milk» as if they were fibres: bamboo is viscose, lyocell or modal; the others are also regenerated fibres with their own official name.
• «Virgin wool» when it isn't. It can only be used if the wool has never been part of a finished product; in a blend, moreover, all the wool must be virgin, make up at least 25% of the weight and be blended with only one other fibre.
• A label only in English (or only in the workshop's language) on a garment sold in another country.
• Forgetting the lining or the parts with a different composition.
• Only a hanging cardboard tag, which gets thrown away when the garment is first worn.
• The online product page not stating the composition, or stating a different one from the label.
• For footwear, calling a synthetic material «leather»: «leather» is tanned animal hide; synthetics are declared as «other materials».

Checklist before publishing

• The sewn-in label states the composition with official fibre names, in the language of each country where you sell (in Spain, Spanish) and with percentages.
• The percentages add up to 100 and are in descending order.
• It doesn't say «100%» or «pure» if there is more than one fibre.
• If there is a lining or another different part, each one has its composition.
• If it has fur, feathers, horn or mother-of-pearl: «Contains non-textile parts of animal origin».
• The garment or its packaging shows your name or brand, postal address and a contact email.
• The online product page repeats the composition exactly.

This guide is for information only and summarises the most common obligations for a small brand; it does not replace the text of the rules and is not legal advice. Sources: Regulation (EU) 1007/2011 · Directive 94/11/EC (footwear) · Regulation (EU) 2023/988. The names in other languages come from the official versions of Annex I of Regulation 1007/2011 on EUR-Lex.