US Apparel Labeling Requirements: FTC, CPSIA and Flammability

This page is for brand owners specifying labels for a US-bound production run. It sits under UFLPA compliance for apparel brands, the compliance cluster pillar. A label is not collateral you finalise while the goods are on the water: get it wrong and the shipment gets held, and the fix costs a multiple of the test.

Why apparel labeling is an admissibility issue, not just consumer protection

The FTC writes the fiber and care rules, the CPSC writes flammability and children's product rules, and CBP enforces origin marking at the border. Those paths converge at the port: a missing origin label, a Class 3 fabric, or a children's shipment without a Children's Product Certificate can produce a hold, a marking notice, re-work under pressure, or exclusion — and the importer of record carries all of it. So artwork, wording and test evidence must be approved before the bulk sew, at the PP sample gate.

The four mandatory disclosures under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act

The Act (15 U.S.C. § 70) and its rules at 16 CFR Part 303 require four disclosures on every textile apparel product.

What the FTC requires on a US textile apparel label.

Four rules inside those lines catch brands out:

• The 5% rule. Fibers under 5% are designated "other fiber(s)" and need not be named — except that wool must always be named at any percentage, and a sub-5% fiber with definite functional significance may be named with its function, as in "4% spandex for elasticity."
• Ornamentation. At 5% or less of fiber weight, exclude it and state "exclusive of ornamentation." Above 5%, disclose sectionally.
• Linings and trims. Linings and interlinings must be disclosed separately when incorporated for warmth. Trims are generally excludable, and the exclusion should be stated.
• Permanence. The fiber, origin and identity label need not be permanent, but must stay securely attached until delivery and be conspicuous and readily accessible.

RN numbers and the mistake to avoid

An RN is "RN" plus five or more digits, an optional alternative to printing your full legal business name and address. It is free at rn.ftc.gov, typically issued in three to five business days, and open to any US business that makes, imports, distributes or sells textile products.

The serious error: an RN is not transferable and not licensable. Using your factory's RN, or a factory reusing a customer's, is wrong — it must belong to the entity legally responsible for the product in the US. Canada's CA number does not satisfy the US requirement.

The Care Labeling Rule (16 CFR Part 423) and the reasonable-basis requirement

A permanent care label must be attached to textile wearing apparel, legible for the useful life of the garment and findable at point of sale.

The provision brands underestimate is reasonable basis: you must hold reliable evidence — test data, industry expertise or documented experience — supporting the instruction for the finished garment as a whole, not just the shell. A shell that survives a hot wash paired with a fusible interlining or plastisol print that does not means the instruction is wrong. That evidence comes from garment performance testing at the PP and TOP sample gates.

Washing instructions must cover five elements: wash method with water temperature if hot water would harm the item; bleach, stated only where restricted; drying method and temperature if high heat is harmful; ironing, only if regularly needed; and warnings using "Do not", "No" or "Only". "Dryclean Only" is a warning that washing will damage the garment. ASTM D5489 symbols may replace words, but Europe's ISO 3758 / GINETEX symbols are not automatically accepted.

Country of origin marking on garments

Two things must line up: what the origin is, and where the label sits.

Origin for textiles is not the general substantial-transformation test. It follows the hierarchy at 19 CFR 102.21, and for most garments the cut-and-sew country is the country of origin regardless of where fabric or yarn came from — Chinese fabric cut and sewn in Bangladesh is Bangladesh origin. See how country of origin is determined for garments. Origin for tariff purposes does not launder the forced-labor provenance of the inputs; that is a separate UFLPA analysis.

Placement is prescribed. Under 16 CFR 303.16, for a garment with a neck the origin label must sit at the inside center of the neck, midway between the shoulder seams or immediately adjacent to another label there. A side-seam origin label on a tee is a defect.

CPSIA requirements for children's apparel: testing, certificates and tracking labels

Children's apparel means products intended primarily for children 12 and under, and the regime is materially heavier:

• Lead: 100 ppm total content in accessible component parts (15 U.S.C. § 1278a); 90 ppm in surface coatings (16 CFR Part 1303).
• Phthalates: 0.1% each for eight — DEHP, DBP, BBP under CPSIA § 108, plus DINP, DIBP, DPENP, DHEXP, DCHP under 16 CFR Part 1307. Apparel exposure comes via plastisol prints, PVC appliqués, snaps and zipper pulls.
• Third-party testing by a CPSC-accepted lab is mandatory, and a Children's Product Certificate must accompany the shipment, citing each applicable safety rule, importer details, place and date of manufacture and testing, and the lab. CPC data is increasingly filed electronically into ACE — confirm the current requirement with your broker.
• Tracking labels under CPSIA § 103 must be permanent and on both product and packaging: manufacturer name or code, city and country of manufacture, month and year, and a batch identifier.
• Also applicable: sleepwear flammability under 16 CFR 1615 (0–6X) and 1616 (7–14), far stricter than Part 1610; drawstrings under 16 CFR Part 1120 and ASTM F1816 — none in the hood or neck area of 2T–12, and waist drawstrings in 2T–16 limited to 3 inches outside the channel; small parts under 16 CFR 1501 for under-3s.

Flammability under 16 CFR Part 1610 and which fabrics actually need testing

The test holds a specimen at a 45° angle, applies flame for 1 second, and records the time for flame to travel 127 mm (5 inches).

Flammability classes under 16 CFR Part 1610.

Two exemptions under § 1610.1(d) do most of the work: plain-surface fabrics of any fiber weighing 2.6 oz/yd² or more (roughly 88 gsm), and fabrics made entirely of acrylic, modacrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester or wool, at any weight. A 160 gsm cotton jersey tee is exempt by weight; a 100% polyester garment by fiber. What needs testing is lightweight cellulosics and silks, sheers, and raised-surface constructions — fleece, brushed, napped, pile — exactly the loungewear category many DTC brands launch with. Testing runs roughly $50–200 per fabric.

Worked example: the cost of finding out late

A 10,000-piece brushed-back fleece hoodie program at an FOB of $10.20 is a $102,000 order.

That is 44 to 121 times the cost of the test, before the missed drop date. The same arithmetic applies to a missing origin label or a care instruction with no reasonable basis.

Pre-production label checklist for US apparel imports

Every row below should be signed off before the bulk cut, at the PP sample gate.

Put these rows into the labelling and packaging page of a tech pack and make them inspection points in AQL inspection for brand owners.

California Proposition 65 and the state PFAS laws

Prop 65 requires a "clear and reasonable" warning before knowingly exposing Californians to a listed chemical above the safe-harbour level. Apparel-relevant listings include lead, cadmium, phthalates, BPA, nickel, arsenic, antimony, chromium (VI) and formaldehyde. Penalties run up to $2,500 per day per violation, and enforcement is dominated by private 60-day notices rather than the Attorney General — Center for Environmental Health testing triggered notices against 75 sock brands over BPA in 2024–25. Chemical identification on the warning label becomes required 1 January 2028. Check safe-harbour levels at oehha.ca.gov.

State PFAS bans in apparel, both effective 1 January 2025.

The sourcing consequence: DWR and stain-release finishes and some water-repellent membranes must be re-specified, and you should require a total organic fluorine test report fabric by fabric rather than a blanket "PFAS-free" declaration. Where this page states a requirement in general terms, the FTC's own guidance — Threading Your Way and Clothes Captioning — carries the authoritative detail.

Frequently asked questions