The FTC Guidelines are specific. If a consumer can reasonable care for their apparel by home washing it, then you must not include a care instruction like "dry clean only". You are not allowed to provide a restrictive care instruction that would not "reasonably" harm a garment. On that note, one laundry instruction on machine-washable apparel that is almost always not compliant is "do not bleach". Independent testing reports that nearly 98% of all machine washable apparel are safe in a non-chlorine bleach. Therefore, the correct instruction if you are providing one is "non-chlorine bleach when needed".
2. That Really Big Brand says it, so we can too... NOT!
Just because a big brand says so, does not make it right - nor is it a defense if the FTC finds that you are in violation. Just because a brand may be huge, does not mean all their care instructions are compliant. One example is when you see a "do not bleach" instruction on a big brand offering machine washable apparel. As stated above, independent testing reports that nearly 98% of all machine washable apparel are safe in a non-chlorine bleach. Therefore, you are not allowed to provide an instruction that restricts all bleaches. The correct instruction, if you are providing one, is "non-chlorine bleach when needed" on colored apparel. Many white and pastel apparel are in fact safe in any type of bleach. If that is the case, than the appropriate instruction is often "bleach when needed".
3. We used the care instructions provided by the fabric source.
Your fabric suppliers are NOT responsible for care instruction compliance. Do not take their word on care instructions - especially on a negative instruction. DO YOUR OWN TESTING. Any time you get a machine-washable fabric with negative wash instructions, please be wary.
2. That Really Big Brand says it, so we can too... NOT!
Just because a big brand says so, does not make it right - nor is it a defense if the FTC finds that you are in violation. Just because a brand may be huge, does not mean all their care instructions are compliant. One example is when you see a "do not bleach" instruction on a big brand offering machine washable apparel. As stated above, independent testing reports that nearly 98% of all machine washable apparel are safe in a non-chlorine bleach. Therefore, you are not allowed to provide an instruction that restricts all bleaches. The correct instruction, if you are providing one, is "non-chlorine bleach when needed" on colored apparel. Many white and pastel apparel are in fact safe in any type of bleach. If that is the case, than the appropriate instruction is often "bleach when needed".
3. We used the care instructions provided by the fabric source.
Your fabric suppliers are NOT responsible for care instruction compliance. Do not take their word on care instructions - especially on a negative instruction. DO YOUR OWN TESTING. Any time you get a machine-washable fabric with negative wash instructions, please be wary.
4. You list the care instructions in the wrong order.
Crazy as it sounds with all the details associated with bring apparel to market, simple mistakes can really effect your presentation. When referring to washable garments, the correct order is: Wash; Bleach; Dry; Iron. You need not have all the instructions such as Iron, but the wording and/or symbols need to match the order reasonable consumers would perform them.
