Canada Care Labeling of Apparel and Fashion Accessories

Care labels tell the person who buys a garment how to wash, dry, iron and otherwise look after it, using a standard set of symbols that work across languages. In Canada that system has a distinctive feature: care labelling of textiles is a voluntary program. Businesses decide for themselves whether and when to adopt it.

The position is stated by the Competition Bureau in these terms: “Since care labelling of textile is a voluntary program in Canada, the Competition Bureau leaves the decision to businesses if and when they want to adopt the new standard, published in December 2003 by the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB). The standard is harmonized with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) care symbols and the symbols in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (both not yet finalized).” That statement was recorded on June 2, 2009, at this address: http://www.canadabusiness.ca/servlet/contentServer?cid=1081944201456&pagename=CBSC_nB/display&lang=en&c=Services

Harmonization is the practical point for Canadian manufacturers and importers. A garment sold in Canada is very often also sold in the United States and Mexico, or made for those markets, so a Canadian care label built on symbols shared with the NAFTA system and aligned with the ISO system can serve more than one market without being redesigned for each. The symbol families themselves cover the five operations a care label has to describe: washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional textile care. The Apparel Search reference pages linked at the top of this page explain the symbols themselves, their translations, and the specific Wash Care Labels, ISO Care Symbols and NAFTA Care Symbols term entries.

Canadian apparel businesses meet a second identifier alongside care symbols: the CA number. A CA number is the identification number issued for a Canadian dealer, and it appears on textile labels in place of the dealer's name and address. The CA Numbers entry in the fashion industry terms section explains how the system works, and it is linked both above and in the references below because a company setting up Canadian labelling usually needs the care symbols and its CA number at the same time.

Two cautions belong with any use of this page. First, because the Canadian program is voluntary, the absence of a care label on a Canadian textile article is not by itself a breach of a labelling duty; the choice described by the Competition Bureau rests with the business. Second, care label rules and regulations change from time to time. Consult directly with the appropriate agency for the most current and accurate information: the Apparel Search Company does not guarantee that the information on this page, or the information linked to from this section, is the most current rules and regulations. The Competition Bureau's Guide to the Canadian Care Labelling Program and its Care Labeling of Textiles guidance, linked below, are the official starting points.