CARE LABELS

The international standard for care labelling of textile garments, which includes Britain, was revised and re-published in 2005.

This meant care label requirements in mainland Europe and Britain would continue to be identical to those of their main trading partners. This includes all of the main high street supplier nations such as China, Morocco, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Romania.

Five years later, the drycleaning industry still faces two big problems with the care label system. The first is that manufacturers have been slow to adapt to the changes in symbols, in particular the symbols for the different types of wetcleaning processes. The second problem is that many drycleaners still do not understand the full meaning of the changes in symbols, particularly when they are dealing with garments with a modacrylic content.

The case studies illustrate the consequences of these problems.

High drying temperature leads to marks on velvet

Fault: After drycleaning, this velvet jacket had indentations all over, which were caused by a permanent deformation of the pile. The garment had been labelled P?in a circle with a bar beneath and the fibre content label showed that the outer pile contained modacrylic.

Cause: This garment had been dried at over 40C and this has softened the modacrylic fibres so that touching the garment causes deformations in the pile.

Responsibility: The blame at present would lie with the drycleaner. The drycleaning symbols do not distinguish between sensitive and very sensitive fibres. The cleaner is expected to work out the correct drying temperature from the fibre content label. The labelling standard does not give the settings that should be used but they can be found in the standard for the drycleanability test method (BS/EN/ISO 3175 parts 2 to 4 inclusive).

Rectification: None.

Print bleeds when ironed

Fault: A polyester curtain with a multicolour transfer print was labelled with P in a circle and a one-dot iron. The print survived drycleaning without fading and the curtain had not shrunk.

The curtain was then ironed by hand on a professional finishing table but the print started to smudge and bleed. This ruined the centre of one curtain.

Cause: Prints of this type are transferred from a paper carrier using a heated roller. The inks on the paper vaporise and then re-condense on the fabric. This allows multi-colour patterns to be created economically.

If the print is pressed at a temperature higher than the 110C allowed by the one-dot iron the dyes will bleed.

Responsibility: The blame here lies with the cleaner. The label was correct but the cleaner did not understand the hidden meaning.

Rectification: None.

Glitter loses its sparkle

Fault: This garment lost most of its gold glitter when it was washed in accordance with the care label wash tub 40 with one bar beneath.

Cause: An examination of the manufacturer’s technical file showed that the range had been checked by a reputable testing house. The recommendation was that the garment should either be drycleaned in hydrocarbon or wetcleaned in accordance with the symbol W in a circle with a bar beneath. However, the garment maker had changed the wetcleaning symbol to the wash tub, perhaps in an effort to make the label easier for the consumer to understand.

The garment failed because laundering in accordance with wash tub 40 (even with a bar beneath) is much more vigorous than professional wetcleaning.

This applies particularly when the garment should have been labelled with the mild wetcleaning symbol which requires reduced mechanical action and no abrasion in drying.

Responsibility: The person that overrode the test house is to blame.

Rectification: None.