Labelling Textiles Imported from China: Composition, Care, Origin

Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 sets the harmonised names of textile fibres and requires their composition to be shown on the label of any textile product sold in the European Union. Cotton, wool, polyester, viscose: each fibre must carry its regulatory name, in descending order of weight, expressed as a percentage. A product made of 100% of a single fibre may carry the wording "100%" followed by that fibre's name, with no further detail.

The text tolerates an undeclared share of foreign fibres, present for technical reasons and not intentionally added: up to 2% of total weight, reduced to 0.3% for virgin wool. Beyond that, the composition must be declared. This tolerance does not cover an approximate composition supplied by a factory for lack of control over its own materials.

A Chinese factory declares the composition it believes it used, not always the one actually woven or knitted. Discrepancies often come from a yarn batch change mid-production, or a poorly documented blend of recycled fibres. A laboratory check, by burning or chemical analysis, confirms a composition before it goes on the shelf.

This check has a cost, but it protects against a recall or relabelling after receipt. It becomes worthwhile as soon as a product is aimed at children, sits against the skin continuously, or claims a valued material such as organic cotton or a recycled fibre, two claims that market surveillance authorities check first.

Washing, drying, ironing, dry-cleaning and bleaching symbols follow ISO 3758, managed by the trade organisation Ginetex. No European regulation requires their presence on a textile: their use remains a market practice, widely applied, that distributors and sales platforms often require by contract.

These symbols are international pictograms: they need no translation. However, any care instruction written as text, for example "hand wash", must remain understandable to a French consumer if it appears on a product sold in France.

In practice, a product sold with no care symbol at all remains compliant with European textile regulation, but it exposes the importer to returns and complaints if the buyer damages the product for lack of guidance. It is as much a commercial choice as a regulatory one, and most distributors settle it by requiring the symbols by contract.

There is no general obligation under European Union law to show "Made in China" on a garment's label. Some distributors or marketplaces require it anyway, for commercial policy reasons or to meet consumer expectations, but it is not a textile labelling rule.

The customs origin declaration is a separate matter, and it remains mandatory: it is used to calculate customs duties and apply any anti-dumping measures. The non-preferential origin of a textile depends on where the most significant processing took place, not just the country where the fabric was bought. Confusion between the commercial label and the customs declaration is a frequent source of error among first-time importers.

The REACH Regulation (EC No 1907/2006) restricts several substances used in dyeing and finishing textiles, in particular certain azo dyes liable to release carcinogenic amines on prolonged contact with skin. A recent amendment to the same regulation also governs the presence of formaldehyde in textile articles intended for consumers.

Since the General Product Safety Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/988) came into application, any textile product sold to a consumer in the Union must also carry the name and address of an identifiable responsible party, manufacturer or importer, on the product or its packaging. This is a traceability obligation, separate from the composition label, and it directly concerns the importer placing the product on the European market.

Sorva, a brokerage and sourcing house, has the composition declared by the factory checked before shipment, and has a compliant label drawn up to the names in Regulation 1007/2011 when the one planned by the supplier is not. Our Chinese-speaking team in Guangzhou deals directly with garment workshops to correct a questionable declaration before it reaches your warehouse.

In most cases, you pay no fees: you open a file, we negotiate the goods for you, and we take a commission on their ex-factory value.