A bar below each symbol calls for a gentler treatment than usual and a double bar for a very gentle treatment.Ī stylized washtub is shown, and the number in the tub means the maximum wash temperature (degrees Celsius). The symbols are protected and their use is required to comply with the license conditions incorrect labelling is prohibited. A milder than specified treatment is always acceptable. Whether this treatment is necessary or sufficient, is not stated. The care label describes the allowable treatment of the garment without damaging the textile. As of 2021, the pictograms are not encoded in Unicode standards, because these symbols are not in public domain across various countries and are copyright. Worldwide, all of these systems tend to use similar pictograms or labelling to convey laundry care instructions. Īdditional textile care labelling systems have been developed for Australia, China, and Japan.
In 1996, ASTM International published a system of pictorial care instructions as D5489 Standard Guide for Care Symbols for Care Instructions on Textile Products with revisions in 1998, 2001, 2007, 2014, and 2018. In 2003, this system was withdrawn in favor of a pictogram-based system harmonized with North American and international standards. In North America, the Standards Council of Canada in 1987 adopted CAN/CGSB-86.1-M87, a colour-based textile care labelling system where green indicated "go ahead", yellow "be careful", and red "stop". ISO 3758 was supplemented in 1993, revised in 2005 and again in 2012 with reviews of the standard held on a five-year cycle.
By the early 1970s, GINETEX was working with ISO to develop international standards for textile labelling, eventually leading to the ISO 3758 standard, Textiles – Care labelling code using symbols. GINETEX, the France-based European association for textile care labelling, was formed in 1963 in part to define international standards for the care and labelling of textiles.