UK Label Regulations: What Every Fashion Brand Should Know

When you’re building a fashion brand in the UK, the little details matter — and that includes your labels. Far more than a stylish woven tag or hang-tag design, labelling is a matter of legal compliance, brand credibility and consumer trust. Here’s a breakdown of key UK labelling requirements, why they matter, and how you can stay on the right side of the rules while delivering on brand identity.

1. Why labelling matters for fashion brands

First, let’s be clear: this isn’t just about ticking a regulatory box. Good labelling helps you:

Communicate fibre content, care instructions and materials to your customer.
Avoid consumer complaints, regulatory action or forced recalls.
Reinforce brand quality and transparency (which today’s customer expects).
Work more efficiently when producing your garments in volume — when the labelling process is baked into your production spec, it becomes just another part of the tech-pack.
Given that your label is one of the final touch-points a customer sees, it also becomes part of your brand experience. At Clothing Labels, for example, you’ll find a wide choice of woven, printed, composition labels, size chips and more — all designed to reflect your brand identity. %sitename%

2. Fibre composition: what you absolutely must show

Under UK law — specifically the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012 — textile products supplied in the UK must carry a label showing the fibre content. businesscompanion.info+2Euverify+2
Key points:

If a product is made of two or more components with different fibre content (e.g., a jacket shell vs lining) you must show the fibre content of each component. GOV.UK+1
The fibre content must use the officially permitted fibre names (the list comes from EU Regulation 1007/2011 as adopted into UK law). businesscompanion.info+1
The label must be durable, legible, visible and accessible. For example, printed inside the garment on the seam tag or similar. businesscompanion.info
The label must be in English when the product is supplied in the UK market. businesscompanion.info+1
Failing to provide accurate composition labelling can lead to enforcement by trading standards, product recalls and reputational damage.

3. Care instructions & symbols

While fibre content is legally required, care instructions are not always strictly mandatory in the UK. That said, they are highly recommended — and essential for building trust and avoiding liability. According to UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT), UK brands often adopt the international GINETEX care labelling symbols (also covered under ISO 3758:2023) and must hold a licence to use them. UKFT
Key advice:

Consider including washing, drying, ironing, bleaching and dry-clean instructions via standard symbols.
If you skip care instructions, you expose yourself to potential claims if the customer follows some “reasonable” care process and the garment fails. UKFT
In your tech-pack and label spec, define how the label will handle wash durability, fade resistance and readability after use.

4. “Made in/Origin” labelling: what you need to know

In the UK, there is no general legal requirement that all garments must carry a “Made in …” label. However:

If the omission of origin would mislead the consumer (for example, flag imagery or branding implying UK manufacture when the product is made abroad) you must disclose the origin. UKFT+1
If you export garments to other markets (EU or elsewhere) check those destination’s rules — they may require origin labelling as standard.

5. Other regulatory issues to keep in mind

Sub-components and non-textile parts of animal origin

If a textile product contains non-textile parts of animal origin (for instance, real fur, leather trims) this must be clearly indicated using the phrase “contains non-textile parts of animal origin”. businesscompanion.info+1

Special items (children’s nightwear, special fabrics)

Certain categories of garments (e.g., children’s nightwear) have additional fire-safety labelling obligations. Sewport+1

Advertising and e-commerce

If you advertise garments (catalogues, online, mail-order) and the customer can buy from the description alone, fibre content must be indicated in the advertisement. businesscompanion.info+1

Brexit and harmonisation

Though the UK has left the EU, much of the labelling framework remains based on the earlier EU regulation. That means UK brands selling into EU or UK markets should keep an eye on evolving rules. Euverify+1

6. How to integrate compliance with your brand identity

For a fashion brand, compliance must also serve your brand story. Here are practical tips:

Start your label design early — define the composition label, care tab, size chip and hang-tag in your tech-pack.
Work with a specialist supplier (like Clothing Labels who offer woven labels, printed labels, size chips, composition labels and more) to ensure you get compliant materials with good finish. %sitename%+1
Make sure the composition label and other tags are sewn or attached in a durable way, and placed in a consistent location across your SKU range.
Use the care instructions not only for compliance but to reinforce your brand values — e.g., “Wash cold to preserve your handcrafted finishes” or “Hang dry to protect our artisan prints”.
Ensure your supplier chain supports accurate fibre declarations (i.e., you have test reports or supplier declarations of fibre content). This avoids mis-labelling.
Keep documentation. If a Trading Standards officer asks, you should be able to demonstrate that your labelling is correct and durable for the product’s expected life.

7. What’s next for labelling and fashion brands?

The labelling landscape is evolving:

Digital labelling. Some commentators note that UK law may move towards allowing certain regulatory information to be provided digitally rather than physically on the label. carbonfact.com
Sustainability & supply-chain transparency. While not yet mandated in all cases, consumers increasingly expect labels or hang-tags to communicate sustainable credentials, recycled fibre content, or ethical manufacturing. Your label could become a brand differentiator.
Global exports. If you’re planning to sell outside the UK (e.g., into EU, US or other markets) you’ll need to check local labelling rules — the foundation is the UK fibre-content rule, but other jurisdictions may add origin, care, size standards etc. Euverify

8. Summary checklist for your label compliance

Here’s a quick checklist you can use:

✅ Fibre content shown, in English, using correct fibre names.
✅ If multiple components, each’s fibre content shown.
✅ Label durable, legible & accessible.
✅ If non-textile animal parts present: “contains non-textile parts of animal origin”.
✅ Care instructions included (strongly recommended) and if using symbols, ensure licence etc.
✅ Advertising and online descriptions include fibre content when appropriate.
✅ Documentation retained for fibre content (supplier statements, testing).
✅ Label design harmonises with your brand identity (woven/printed/composition tags, size chips etc).
✅ Make sure placement, finish and material of the label reflect garment use (e.g., interior seams, delicate finishes, wash durability).
✅ If exporting, check destination market labelling rules.

9. Why work with a specialist label supplier?

Selecting the right label supplier can make all the difference. A company like Clothing Labels offers sample packs and a range of label types (woven, printed, cardboard hang-tags, size chips). %sitename%+1
Benefits include:

Professional quality finish that aligns with your brand.
Knowledge of label materials suitable for wash, wear and durability.
Advice on label placement, materials and best practice.
A smoother process when scaling production (you can order production-run labels once the sample is approved).
Peace of mind that your brand-facing labels reflect the quality you intend to deliver — and reduce the risk of non-compliance through mis-labelling.

10. Final thoughts

For a UK fashion brand, labelling isn’t just compliance — it’s part of the brand experience. When you get it right, your label reinforces brand values, communicates quality and helps build consumer trust. When you ignore it, you risk regulatory action, customer dissatisfaction and damage to your reputation.
Start with the fundamentals (fibre content, durable labeling, care instructions) and then layer your brand identity on top (distinctive woven labels, premium hang-tags, size chips). Partner with a label specialist, stay on top of evolving labelling requirements and you’ll be well-placed to deliver garments that look great, comply with UK rules and support your growth.
If you’d like help choosing label types, materials or print/embroider finishes I’m happy to dive into that too!