What a jumper sold in Great Britain must tell the buyer — fibre, care and origin — and how to get it right at the factory, not on a relabelling run.
UK textile labelling requirements are set by the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012, retained and modified post-Brexit as part of GB law. The core obligation is simple: knitwear sold in Great Britain must state its fibre composition accurately, using standardised fibre names, before sale. Alongside the legal requirement, care instructions and country of origin are expected by buyers, retailers and consumers. Get labelling right at the manufacturing stage — built into the garment in Turkey — and it's invisible. Get it wrong and the consequences range from relabelling cost to trading standards enforcement.
The mandatory requirement under the UK Textile Products Regulations is fibre composition labelling. This must:
Fibre names must follow the standardised list in the Regulations — "Wool", "Cashmere", "Cotton", "Polyester", "Acrylic", "Nylon" (Polyamide) and so on. Trade names ("Merino", "Mohair", "Lambswool") may be added in addition to the standardised names but cannot replace them. "Merino" is not an approved fibre name — "Wool" is. However, you may say "100% Wool (Merino)" to specify the type.
Each fibre must be listed as a percentage of the total composition by weight, in descending order. "65% Wool, 35% Polyamide" is correct; "65% Polyamide, 35% Wool" would be incorrect if Wool is the dominant fibre. The percentages must match the actual yarn composition — the mill certificate from your yarn supplier is the source document.
If a mix of minor fibres total no more than 5% of the composition and it is not reasonably practicable to state each individually, they may be described as "Other fibres" with their total percentage. Example: "90% Wool, 5% Cashmere, 5% Other fibres." However, if the composition can be stated in full, it should be.
Non-functional decorative components that account for less than 7% of the garment's total weight do not need to be included in the fibre composition statement. A decorative woven collar band on a jumper, if below 7% by weight, can be excluded. However, if excluded, you cannot make any fibre claim about that component in marketing.
| Common term | Approved label name | Permitted addition |
|---|---|---|
| Merino wool | Wool | "(Merino)" after |
| Lambswool | Wool | "(Lambswool)" after |
| Cashmere | Cashmere | — (approved name) |
| Alpaca | Alpaca | — (approved name) |
| Mohair | Mohair | — (approved name) |
| Cotton | Cotton | "(Organic)" if GOTS certified |
| Recycled polyester | Polyester | "(Recycled)" permitted; GRS cert for marketing claim |
| Acrylic | Acrylic | — |
| Nylon / Polyamide | Polyamide | — |
UK law does not legally mandate care instructions on garments — unlike fibre composition, care labelling is not a statutory requirement. However, in practice:
Every major UK retailer — from John Lewis and Marks & Spencer to ASOS and independent boutiques — requires care instructions as a vendor condition. Buyer vendor guides typically specify ISO 3758 GINETEX symbols (wash, bleach, tumble dry, iron, dry clean), either alone or with text. Without care instructions, goods will not be accepted into most UK retail supply chains.
Knitwear that shrinks or felts in a standard 40° wash because there were no care instructions — when hand-wash only was the correct guidance — generates customer complaints and returns. Care labelling is practical consumer protection. For fine merino and cashmere especially, care guidance directly affects the customer's experience of the garment.
ISO 3758 (GINETEX care symbols) is the universally recognised format — the wash tub, triangle, square, circle and iron symbols. Text instructions may be added alongside but symbols should be the primary format. We specify appropriate care instructions based on the yarn and construction; you confirm and approve on the sample label before bulk production.
The care label must be durable and legible through the expected lifespan of the garment. Woven labels attached at the seam are the standard approach. Printed labels must use inks that don't fade in washing. A label that becomes illegible after the first wash is a compliance failure even if it was initially correct.
Country of origin labelling on knitwear is not a standalone legal requirement in GB — the UK Textile Products Regulations require fibre composition, not country of origin. However, there are important qualifications:
If you label a garment "Made in Italy" or "Made in Turkey" and it wasn't, that is a misleading commercial practice under UK consumer protection law — regardless of whether origin labelling is mandated. The obligation is: if you state an origin, it must be true.
When you import knitwear from Turkey under the FTA and claim the 0% duty via EUR.1, you are asserting Turkish origin to HMRC. The garment's country of origin for customs purposes is Turkey. This should be consistent with any origin labelling on the garment itself — inconsistency creates a compliance red flag.
Many UK retailers require country of origin on the label as a vendor supply condition, even if not legally mandated. "Made in Türkiye" or "Made in Turkey" are both correct (Turkey changed its international name to Türkiye; both are used in the UK). Confirm your retail buyer's preference before production.
For brands positioning on quality and transparent supply chains, "Made in Turkey" is a positive commercial signal — a known knitwear country with European-standard production and an established FTA with the UK. Many UK brands include origin as an active part of their product story, not just a compliance detail.
The primary brand label, usually at the back neck or centre back, carries the brand name/logo and — where combined with a brand label — the fibre composition. Your brand label artwork is supplied by you; we apply it at the finishing stage. The label must be sewn in, not attached with tags that can be removed before sale.
A separate woven care label is typically placed at the left side seam or back hem. This carries: fibre composition (if not on the main label), care symbols, country of origin (if required) and size. Woven labels are the standard format for durability. Confirm placement with your retail buyer if they have a vendor-guide specification.
UK sizing differs from EU and US. Size labels should carry UK sizes (8, 10, 12, 14, 16 for women's; S, M, L, XL for unisex/men's) unless your brand uses its own sizing system. EU or US equivalent can be added alongside. If selling into a UK retail chain, their vendor guide will specify the size label format and any required label content.
Swing tags (attached with a string or pin) carry brand information and retail price. They are not a legal labelling requirement and are not the correct location for fibre composition or care information, since they can be removed before or after sale. Legal labelling belongs on sewn-in labels.
The label must state the actual composition of the yarn used, backed by the mill certificate. A brand that labels a garment "100% Cashmere" when the yarn is a cashmere-wool blend — even inadvertently, due to a miscommunication with the factory — is in breach of the Regulations and open to Trading Standards enforcement and civil liability.
"Merino" as a standalone fibre name is not on the approved list — "Wool" is. A label that says "100% Merino" rather than "100% Wool (Merino)" does not comply with the Regulations, even if the fibre is in fact merino wool. The standardised name must always be present.
If your knitwear has a sewn-in lining — a woven liner in a knitwear coat, for example — the lining composition must be stated separately in the label, identified as the lining. "Shell: 80% Wool, 20% Nylon / Lining: 100% Polyester" is the correct format. Omitting the lining from the composition statement is a labelling error.
Goods must be labelled before they are offered for sale. Retail clothing that reaches the shop floor without sewn-in labels — even if correct swing tags are attached — is non-compliant. This is a risk when labelling is done at a warehouse stage rather than at the factory. Build labelling into the manufacturing specification, not the import logistics.
We build labelling to your specification in the finishing stage in Turkey — fibre composition from the actual yarn, care symbols, origin ("Made in Türkiye") and your brand label. Supply artwork and your buyer's vendor guide; we confirm the label spec on the sample before bulk.
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