Fibre names and the textile label
Current law since May 2012, widely violated, and under revision with digital labelling among the options.
Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011
In force since May 2012. Revision in preparation.
The Textile Labelling Regulation has applied since May 2012. It fixes which fibre names may appear on a label, how the composition is stated, in which languages, and when animal-origin parts must be declared. The Commission is revising the Textile Labelling Regulation, and digital labelling is among the options on the table. Until a revision is adopted, the physical label stays mandatory.
The rules that catch garments most often
- Only the fibre names in Annex I may describe a fibre. A trade name may appear in addition, never instead: the fibre is "elastane", not the brand of elastane; "lyocell", not the brand of lyocell.
- Blends are stated fibre by fibre with shares of weight; a made-up compound word is not a fibre name.
- Abbreviations do not replace names on the label.
- "100 percent", "pure" and "all" are for single-fibre products only.
- The label must be in the official language of each country where the garment is sold. One English label does not cover the EU.
- Non-textile parts of animal origin (leather, down, horn, fur) must be declared whatever their share.
Tolerances
- A manufacturing tolerance applies between the stated and the measured composition.
- Small shares of a fibre, and decorative fibres, may be left off within the limits the regulation sets.
- A wider tolerance for recycled fibres is under discussion in the revision and is not law.
The revision under preparation discusses digital labelling alongside the physical label, a faster route for adding new fibres to Annex I, and harmonised care instructions on the label. None of it is adopted. Until it is, the physical label with the current rules stays mandatory, and the composition it shows must be the composition the passport shows.
Who is liable
- The brand placing the garment on the EU market answers for the label, not the factory that sewed it in.
- Market surveillance reads e-commerce listings too; a trade name used as a fibre name online is the same violation.
One record
What the Seamdex record already carries
- The approved fibre list as the only composition vocabulary, with imports outside it flagged, never silently accepted.
- Fibre names translated into every passport language from one vetted dictionary.
- Composition per layer with shares of weight, the same figures the passport shows.
Built around the data set the Commission's researchers have proposed, updated as the delegated act lands. Not a compliance claim: no one can make one before the act exists.
Questions on this rule
Sources
- Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 (EUR-Lex) checked September 2026
- European Commission, textile labelling checked September 2026
Related rules
Regulatory dates last reviewed September 2026. Future dates are expectations, not law. This guide describes the rules; it is not legal advice.