Turn a trouser inside out and you will find a small label that tells you what it is made of and how to wash it. Reading it well saves trousers from shrinking, fading and pilling. Writing one well is part of making trousers to sell. This lesson explains care symbols, fibre content labels, Indian marks such as Silk Mark and the Handloom Mark, and what to check before you put your own label on a garment.
What you’ll learn
- The five basic care symbols and what the dots, bars and crosses mean.
- How to read a fibre content label.
- India’s textile marks: Silk Mark, Handloom Mark, Khadi and others.
- What to check before labelling trousers you sell.
The five care symbols
| Symbol | Means | Read the extras |
|---|---|---|
| Wash tub | Washing | Dots or a number = temperature; a hand = hand wash; bars below = gentle |
| Triangle | Bleaching | Two lines inside = non-chlorine only |
| Square | Drying | Circle inside = tumble dry; lines = line or flat dry |
| Iron | Ironing | One dot = cool, two = warm, three = hot |
| Circle | Professional cleaning | A letter inside = dry-clean solvent; W = wet clean |
A cross through any symbol means “do not”. The symbols are set out in the international standard ISO 3758, and are used across Europe, India and much of Asia. The United States uses a very similar set under its own standard, and US labels often add words.
Reading the fibre label
- Fibres by weight, largest first: for example “98% cotton, 2% elastane”.
- Generic names: cotton, linen, wool, silk, viscose, polyester, nylon (polyamide), elastane (called spandex in the US). Brand names such as Lycra are trademarks for elastane.
- Linings and parts may be listed separately: “Shell: 100% wool. Lining: 100% viscose.”
Even 2–5% elastane changes how a trouser fits, recovers and should be washed. A blend with polyester dries faster but may pill; a high-viscose trouser can shrink if washed hot.
India’s textile marks
- Silk Mark: a label from the Silk Mark Organisation of India (under the Central Silk Board) that the product is pure natural silk.
- Handloom Mark and India Handloom Brand: government schemes marking handwoven cloth, the second also for quality and social standards.
- Khadi Mark: from the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, for genuine hand-spun, handwoven khadi.
- Woolmark (international): wool quality.
- GOTS and OEKO-TEX (international): organic fibre processing, and testing for harmful substances.
In more depth: what a label for sale must show
Rules on what a garment label must say are set country by country.
- India: pre-packaged goods, which can include packed garments, come under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, which require details such as the maker’s or packer’s name and address, the product name, size or quantity, the maximum retail price and a consumer care contact. Other rules may apply to fibre content or to particular products.
- European Union: fibre names and percentages are set by EU textile labelling law; care symbols are voluntary but almost universal.
- United States: fibre content, country of origin and maker identification are required under federal textile rules, and permanent care labels under the Federal Trade Commission’s care labelling rule.
- United Kingdom: has its own textile labelling rules, close to the EU’s.
This is not legal advice. What your own label must show depends on what you sell, where and how. Ask a lawyer, or the Legal Metrology office of your state, before you sell labelled garments, and check the current rules of any country you ship to.
In more depth: care for common trouser fabrics
| Fabric | Usual care | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Cotton, cotton twill | Machine wash warm, iron hot | First-wash shrinkage; pre-wash before cutting |
| Denim | Cold, inside out, less often | Dye rub-off; shrinkage in rigid denim |
| Linen | Gentle wash, iron damp | Creasing, shrinkage |
| Wool suiting | Dry clean or gentle hand wash | Felting in hot water; moths |
| Viscose, rayon | Cool, gentle; dry flat | Shrinkage and weakness when wet |
| Silk | Dry clean or cool hand wash | Water marks, colour bleeding |
| Polyester blends, stretch | Warm wash, cool iron | Pilling, heat damage to elastane |
Part XI covers washing and storing by fabric, including the Bengaluru monsoon.
Tips for learners and teachers
- Photograph the label of every trouser you buy before it fades or you cut it off.
- When in doubt, follow the gentlest symbol on the label, and test a hidden corner.
- Before you cut fabric, wash it the way the finished trouser will be washed.
- Keep the fabric shop’s fibre details with your pattern notes.
- Teachers: hand out ten labels and a symbol chart; students “wash” each trouser on paper.
Common misunderstandings
- “Dry clean only” means it can never get wet. Sometimes a maker plays safe; but test, because some fabrics really do shrink or bleed.
- “Lycra is a fibre.” It is a brand name for elastane.
- “Silk Mark proves handwoven.” It marks pure silk; the Handloom Mark is about handweaving.
- “Care labels are optional, so skip them.” Even where symbols are voluntary, other details may be required; and customers need them.
For earning and teaching
A clear, sewn-in label with fibre content, size and care symbols makes a small brand look professional and prevents complaints (“it shrank”). Test-wash a sample of every new fabric before you decide the care symbols. For marks such as Silk Mark, Handloom or Khadi, use them only through the official scheme. Labelling rules are legal matters: ask, do not guess.
Sources and uncertain points
- ISO 3758: the care symbol standard; edition to check. The symbols are also a registered trademark of GINETEX in many countries; drawings must be our own.
- Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011: the list of required details is summarised, not complete; amendments to check.
- EU, US and UK rules are summarised broadly; check the current rules before relying on them.
- Silk Mark, Handloom Mark, India Handloom Brand and Khadi Mark: scheme names as published by the bodies concerned; rules for use to check.
- Main source: D&D ebook Encyclopedia of Trousers for Women, ch. 66 and 68, widened.
Check yourself
- Can you name the five basic care symbols?
- Do you know what three dots on an iron mean?
- Can you read “97% cotton, 3% elastane” and say how it will behave?
- Can you name two Indian textile marks and what each proves?
- Do you know whom to ask about what your own label must show?
Key terms
- Care label: washing and care instructions.
- Fibre content: fibres and their percentages.
- Elastane: stretch fibre (spandex in the US).
- Silk Mark: India’s pure-silk label.
- Legal Metrology: India’s system for weights, measures and packaged-goods declarations.