The five washing instruction elements
When you give washing instructions, think through five elements: washing method and temperature, bleaching, drying, ironing and warnings. The FTC's care-label guidance explains that a wash instruction should say whether to wash by hand or machine and should include temperature if regular hot water would harm the product.
The label should also address bleach if bleach use would harm the item, drying method, ironing if repeated ironing is needed or harmful, and warnings such as wash separately or do not iron decoration. This makes the instruction usable rather than decorative.
- Wash by machine or hand.
- Bleach allowed, restricted or prohibited.
- Dry by machine or another method.
- Ironing temperature or no iron.
- Warnings against harmful care.
Washing method and temperature
Use machine wash when a normal machine process is safe. Use hand wash when agitation could stretch, felt, snag or distort the garment. If hot water would damage the item, specify cold or warm water. If temperature does not matter, do not add unnecessary precision that could confuse customers.
For handmade garments, test the finished item or a representative sample. Prewashed fabric may still shrink after sewing. Hand-dyed fabric may bleed. Knits can grow. The label should reflect what happens to the finished garment after real care.
Bleach instructions
If all commercially available bleaches can be used regularly without harm, a bleach instruction may not be needed under US guidance. If chlorine bleach would harm the product but non-chlorine bleach would not, use wording such as only non-chlorine bleach when needed. If all bleach would harm it, say do not bleach or no bleach.
Many handmade items should avoid bleach because of dyes, prints, elastic, wool, silk, buttons or trims. If bleach damage is foreseeable, do not leave the label silent just because the main fabric is cotton.
Drying instructions
The care label should say whether to tumble dry or use another drying method. Tumble dry low, tumble dry medium, line dry, drip dry and dry flat communicate different risks. Knitwear, crochet garments and bias-cut pieces often need dry flat because hanging can stretch them out of shape.
If high tumble heat would harm the item, specify lower heat. If tumble drying itself would cause shrinkage, felting, print damage or distortion, say do not tumble dry and give the safe alternative. Avoid vague wording such as air dry carefully when dry flat is what you mean.
Ironing and warnings
If a garment needs regular ironing, the care label should give ironing information. If hot ironing would damage the item, specify cool iron or do not iron. Prints, laminated fabrics, sequins, elastic and synthetic lace may need do not iron decoration or iron on reverse.
Warnings should address care that a consumer might reasonably try. If a red hand-dyed skirt can bleed, use wash separately or wash with like colours. If a sweater will felt, do not use normal machine wash wording and hope the customer knows better.
Drycleaning as an alternative
If you choose drycleaning instructions instead of washing, make sure the process is safe for the garment and any modifications are stated. A simple dryclean instruction is not enough if steam, a certain solvent or another normal drycleaning step would damage the item.
Do not use dry clean only as a shortcut when washing is safe and customers would reasonably expect to wash the product. Care labels should be truthful and useful. Overly restrictive care can reduce customer trust, especially for everyday handmade clothing.
Frequently asked questions
Does a US garment care label need washing instructions?
Covered clothing needs a washing or drycleaning instruction. If the item is washable, a washing instruction is usually the most useful for customers.
When do I need to mention bleach?
Mention bleach when regular bleach use would harm the product, such as only non-chlorine bleach or do not bleach.
Do I need to say do not tumble dry if I say dry flat?
US guidance says warnings are not necessary for some alternative harmful procedures when the safe method is stated, but clear wording can still help avoid customer mistakes.
Can I say hand wash only?
Yes if machine washing would harm the garment and hand washing is safe. Include temperature and drying instructions as needed.
What if nothing is safe, not even drycleaning?
The label needs to state that clearly, such as do not wash and do not dryclean, if you still choose to market the garment.