Clothing Labels - Fiber Content

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that all clothing sold in the United States be properly labeled with fiber content, care instructions, country where garment was made, and manufacturer's name.

Fiber content means the ingredients in the fabric - cotton, polyester microfiber, nylon, spandex, wool, silk, bamboo, etc. These fibers need to be shown by percentage. For example, everybodywear is 90% cotton 10% spandex.

The FTC does not require the fiber content of trims to be listed on a clothing label. This is understandable because trims are generally incidental - zippers, buttons, velcro, elastic, etc. In the case of everybodywear, the trims are 1/4" foldover satin elastic on the leg openings, and 3/4" elastic used in the waistband casing.

As you read clothing labels for fiber content, know that in certain types of clothing that rely heavily on broad bands of trims such as lace, the trim fiber is not specifically recognized on the clothing label. In cases where the garment is small, such as thong underwear, the trim may comprise 40% or more of the actual garment. This could be confusing, so read the label carefully to determine whether you've got a natural fiber such as cotton in contact with your skin, or something else.