A clothing hang tag normally carries the brand, product name, size, colour, price and barcode. Fibre composition (and, in the US, care instructions and country of origin) usually has to be on a label that stays on the garment, because the customer cuts the tag off; the tag can repeat it, but should not be the only place it appears. The details differ between the EU, the UK and the US, and getting them wrong costs more than a reprint. Below, what normally goes on a custom hang tag is separated from what textile labelling rules govern, with the official sources named. It is general information, not legal advice; obligations depend on your role (manufacturer, importer or distributor) and product, so confirm them with your compliance adviser or the relevant authority.
What should you put on a clothing hang tag?
A hang tag normally carries the brand and logo, product name or style, size, colour, price, a barcode or SKU, and a short product message. Legal information such as fibre content and care usually belongs on a durable label attached to the garment, and the tag may repeat it if the tag is not the only place it appears.
A practical split:
| Information | Typically on hang tag | Typically on sewn-in or permanent label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand name and logo | Yes | Yes (brand label) | The brand label also helps identify the item after the tag is removed |
| Product name, style, collection | Yes | Optional | Marketing |
| Size | Yes (often on a sticker or printed on the tag) | Yes (in most markets size is on the label too) | Size must stay with the garment for practical reasons even where no rule requires it |
| Price | Yes (or a separate price sticker) | No | Price display follows each market's consumer price rules; the tag is a common but not the only place |
| Barcode / SKU | Yes | Optional | Needed for retail stock systems |
| Fibre composition | May repeat | Required on a durable label or marking in the EU and UK; on a label in the US | See below |
| Care instructions | May repeat | Required on a permanent label in the US; common practice and voluntary in the EU and UK | See below |
| Country of origin | Optional in EU and UK | Required on a label for most textiles sold in the US | US rule; see below |
| Manufacturer or responsible-person details | Optional | Needed where product-safety rules require name and address | See GPSR note |
| Brand story, sustainability note | Yes | No | Claims must be accurate |
What does the EU Textile Regulation require?
Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 requires textile products to be labelled or marked with their fibre composition whenever they are made available on the market. The label must be durable, easily legible, visible and accessible, and securely attached if it is a label (Article 14). It does not itself require care instructions or size.
Key points from the regulation (official text on eur-lex.europa.eu, under Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011):
- Fibre names must be those listed in Annex I; the regulation sets how percentages are shown and how products with several fibres are described (Articles 5 to 9).
- Labels must be in the official language(s) of the Member State where the product is sold, unless that state permits otherwise (Article 16).
- A trademark or company name may sit immediately before or after the fibre composition, but if it contains a fibre name from Annex I (or something confusingly similar) it must sit immediately next to the composition; other information must be kept separate (Article 16).
- Products with non-textile parts of animal origin must say "Contains non-textile parts of animal origin" (Article 12).
- Between businesses in the supply chain, accompanying commercial documents can replace labels (Article 14(2)).
- Manufacturers are responsible for the label and its accuracy; importers where the manufacturer is not established in the EU; a distributor who places a product under its own name or trademark, or changes the label, takes on the manufacturer's role (Article 15).
The regulation does not say whether a detachable hang tag counts as a "label" for the fibre composition requirement. Where the label has to remain with the product, the usual practice is a sewn-in label, with the tag repeating the information for the shopper. Confirm this for your product with your adviser. Official source: Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 on EUR-Lex. Check also for amendments.
What does the UK require?
In Great Britain, Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 continues as assimilated law, and the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1102) provide its enforcement and penalties. In Northern Ireland the EU Regulation itself continues to apply under the Windsor Framework. Fibre content must be labelled using the listed fibre names; local weights and measures authorities (Trading Standards) enforce the rules in Great Britain, with a separate enforcement authority in Northern Ireland.
The regulations refer to the Annexes of the assimilated Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011. Typical guidance from Trading Standards services: products with components of different fibre content show each; the word "pure" is used only where a product is a single fibre; "silk" may not be used to describe the texture of another fibre. Care labelling is not required by these regulations and is voluntary in the UK. Official source: The Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012 on legislation.gov.uk, with Department for Business guidance and Trading Standards business advice. The label language requirement should be checked against current guidance.
What does the US require?
The Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, implemented by the FTC in 16 CFR Part 303, requires a label on the product disclosing the generic fibre names and percentages, the country of origin and the identity of the manufacturer or dealer (a name or a Registered Identification Number). The Care Labeling Rule (16 CFR Part 423) requires care instructions on a permanent label for most wearing apparel.
What the tag can do under these rules:
- Fiber content, origin and manufacturer identity must be on a label securely attached to the product until delivered to the consumer (FTC guidance on the Textile and Wool Acts). They may be on one label or separate labels, but for a garment with a neck, the country of origin must be on the front of a label attached to the inside centre of the neck (16 CFR 303.15(b)), so a hang tag cannot carry it alone.
- A hang tag that carries only non-required information may omit the full fibre disclosure, but if the product contains fibres beyond those named on the tag, the tag must say it does not disclose the full fibre content and refer to the label (16 CFR 303.17).
- Fibre trademarks and generic names used together must appear in equal prominence, with a complete fibre disclosure where the name first appears on the label (16 CFR 303.17).
- Care labels must be attached so they can be seen or easily found at the point of sale. Where a garment is packaged or folded so the label is hidden, the care information must also appear on the outside of the package or on a hang tag (16 CFR 423.6). The care instructions must give "regular care" instructions and warnings where a procedure consumers might use would harm the product (16 CFR 423.6).
- Care symbols: the FTC rule's own provisions on symbols are narrower than the symbol systems used by many brands. The FTC guidance page describes ASTM D5489 symbols and a proposal to allow later ASTM and ISO symbol versions. Check the current rule text before relying on symbols alone; words are always acceptable.
Wool, fur and some other products are covered by separate Acts and rules. Official sources: FTC Textile and Wool Acts guidance, 16 CFR Part 303, 16 CFR Part 423 and FTC care labeling guidance.
Which care symbols should you use?
Care symbols in Europe and the UK commonly follow the ISO 3758 care labelling code (the GINETEX symbol system); in the US, many brands use ASTM D5489 symbols with words. Symbols are shorthand; because rules on care differ by market, a brand selling in several countries often prints symbols with a short wording block in the languages of each market.
Whatever system you use, the care instruction must reflect the garment's actual performance: the US rule requires a reasonable basis for care instructions, and instructions that would damage the product are a compliance risk in every market. Test the garment, or rely on testing of the fabric, before the label text is fixed.
Should size, price and barcode be on the hang tag?
Yes, in practice; these are the facts a shop uses and a customer reads at the rail. Size is also normally on the garment label, because the hang tag is removed. Price display is set by each country's consumer rules and by the retailer; many brands print the recommended price on the tag or add a price sticker, and wholesale buyers often prefer a space or sticker for the retailer's own price.
A barcode must scan reliably. Print it with enough quiet space around it, a contrast ratio the scanner can read and a size that matches the standard for the code, and check scan quality on the proof. A varnish or foil over a barcode can make it unreadable.
What about product safety and responsible-person details?
Consumer-product safety law in some markets expects the manufacturer's identity and a traceability reference on the product or packaging. In the EU, the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 includes requirements of this kind for consumer products; whether and how they apply to a given garment depends on your role and product. This is outside the textile labelling rules above, and a hang tag can be one place to carry the information when the garment label has no room. Ask your compliance adviser to confirm what Regulation (EU) 2023/988, published on EUR-Lex, requires for your garments.
Design details that make a tag work
- Put the size and barcode where a shop assistant can find them without lifting the tag from the garment.
- Leave a clean white or uncoated area if the retailer will add a price sticker or hand-written price.
- Keep fibre and care blocks at a legible size; very small print is a risk under the "easily legible" wording of the EU rule.
- Check that the barcode prints black on a light background, with no coating over it.
- If the tag repeats legal information, make sure it matches the label exactly.
For sizes and layout, see hang tag sizes and shapes; for board and finishes (varnish can affect barcodes), hang tag materials.
Hang tag content checklist before sending artwork
- Brand, logo and product name.
- Size, colour, style or SKU.
- Price or a price area.
- Barcode with quiet zone; scan check on the proof.
- Fibre composition: on the label; repeated on the tag only if exact.
- Care: on the permanent label; repeated only if exact.
- Origin and responsible-person details as the markets you sell in require.
- Languages for each market.
- Hole position and a safe margin around it.
Send final artwork and tag specifications through contact. The full specification guide is in the hang tags hub.