Federal Trade Commission

Bureau of Consumer Protection

Office of Consumer & Business Education

202-FTC-HELP www.ftc.gov

March 1999 1 2

Facts

for Business

H ere comes the bride-to-be, shoppingfor the perfect dress for her big day.

Her main focus may be on style and price,

but its likely she also wants to know about

the manufacturer, fiber content, country of

origin and care instructions. Todays bride

wants this labeling information to help make

a smart choice about what is surely to be one

of the most memorable  and expensive 

clothing purchases of a lifetime. Whats

more, this labeling information is required.

Garment Labels

If you manufacture, import or sell wedding

gowns, you must ensure that consumers

have certain garment information. The

Textile Act, its regulations and the FTCs

Care Labeling Rule require that labels be

attached to imported and domestic textile

products such as wedding gowns. These

rules apply to sample gowns, as well as to

gowns that are for sale.

Wedding gown labels must contain four

pieces of information:

1. The identity of any one business in the

distribution channel,

including:

 the manufacturer;

 the manufacturers

Registered Identification Number (RN),

which is issued to companies in the U.S.

and registered by the FTC;

 the retail stores name or RN; or,

 the RN or business name of any other

company in the U.S. directly involved

in the distribution of the gown.

The label showing the name or RN may be

sewn-in or attached as a hang-tag. Either

way, it must be conspicuously placed.

2. The garments fiber content.

The generic fiber names

and percentages by

weight of each fiber used

must be listed in descending order of predominance. The label may be sewn-in or

attached as a hang-tag and must be conspicuously placed. It may appear with other

information or it may be a separate label.

To insure proper care of the garment, it

may be important  although not required

 to have the fiber content on a label that is

permanently attached.

3. The country of origin.

Imported wedding gowns

must identify the country

where they were processed

or manufactured.

 Gowns made entirely in the U.S. of

materials also made in the U.S. must be

labeled Made in U.S.A. or an equivalent phrase.

 Gowns made in the U.S. of imported

materials must be labeled to show the

processing or manufacturing that takes

place in the U.S., as well as the imported component.

 Gowns manufactured partly in the U.S.

and partly abroad must identify both

aspects.

Wedding Gown

Labels:

Unveiling

the

Requirements

100% Polyester

Made in USA

by XYZ Designs

65% polyester

35% silk

Made

in

France
345

 If a gown is imported, the country-oforigin label must be sewn in to comply

with U.S. Customs Service requirements. If a gown is made in the U.S. 

of either imported or domestic fabric 

the country of origin information can be

sewn in or placed on a hang-tag. In any

case, the country-of-origin disclosure

must be placed as close as possible to

the center back of the neck.

4. Care instructions.

The care label must identify:

 At least one safe

cleaning method 

either washing or

drycleaning  and

any necessary

warnings about the cleaning method.

 Example: If the care instruction is to

dryclean, the label must specify one type

of solvent that may be used, unless all

commercially available types of solvents

can be used safely on the gown.

 Example: If the gown is labeled for

washing, the label must say whether any

step of the normal washing process 

washing, bleaching, drying, or ironing

 could harm the garment or other

items cleaned with it.

Tag Omission, Removal and

Substitution

A wedding gown must have all the required

labeling information when it leaves the

manufacturer.

Under the Textile Act, it is illegal to remove

a label containing manufacturer, fiber

content or country-of-origin information

without substituting another label with the

required information. For example, a

retailer who wants to remove a label identifying the manufacturer, must substitute it

with a label that lists the shops own name

or RN, or the name or RN of someone else

in the gown distribution chain. In addition,

the substituted label must contain all the

information that is required on the original

label. All substitute labels must be properly

attached to the gown  either sewn in or

on a conspicuously placed hang-tag. Finally,

a retailer must not remove the sewn-in care

instructions.

Record Keeping

Wedding gown manufacturers must keep

records that show the information required

on the label (manufacturer or dealer identity

or RN, fiber content, and country of origin)

for every garment they produce. The

records, which must be kept for three

years, should show that the letter of the law

has been met and establish a traceable line

from the raw materials to the finished

product.

In addition, any business that substitutes a

label on a textile product  such as a

wedding gown retailer  also must keep

records for three years that show what

information on the label was removed and

the name of the party from whom the

product was received.

Non-Compliance

Any violation of the Textile Act regulations

or the Care Labeling Rule is considered an

unfair and deceptive act or practice under

the FTC Act. As a remedy, the Commission

may issue an administrative order prohibiting the unlawful behavior. Violations of an

administrative order can result in a federal

district court action for civil penalties up to

$11,000 per violation. Businesses not

subject to a previous administrative order

also can be subject to monetary civil penalties, an injunction, and other remedies 

including consumer redress  in a federal

district court action for knowingly engaging

in practices  such as mislabeling garments

 that the Commission has determined in

prior cases to be unfair or deceptive.

For violations of the Care Labeling Rule by

a manufacturer or importer, the Commission may seek an injunction in federal

district court and civil penalties of up to

$11,000 per violation. A retailer who

removes care labels from garments may be

held liable for unfair and deceptive acts or

practices under the FTC Act and may be

the subject of an administrative order.

Violations of such orders can result in an

action for civil penalties in federal district

court.

100% silk

dry clean only

RN 00001

The care label must be sewn in.

Imported garments should have

care labels when they are sent to

the U.S., or labels should

be attached by the importer.
6

Each instance of mislabeling under the

textile laws and the Care Labeling Rule may

be considered a separate violation.

For More Information

To learn more about textile labeling requirements and care labels, see Threading Your

Way Through the Labeling Requirements Under the Textile and Wool Acts

and Writing a Care Label. For your copy,

contact the Consumer Response Center,

Federal Trade Commission, Washington,

DC 20580, 202-FTC-HELP (382-4357), or

visit us at www.ftc.gov on the Web.

Your Opportunity to Comment

The Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman and 10

Regional Fairness Boards collect comments

from small business about federal enforcement actions. Each year, the Ombudsman

evaluates enforcement activities and rates

each agencys responsiveness to small

business. To comment on FTC actions, call

1-888-734-3247.