A row of five small pictograms does more work than any paragraph on a garment. It tells a customer in Porto, a launderette in Aarhus and a dry cleaner in Vienna exactly how far the fabric can be pushed, without a single translated word.
Because the care line is universal, mistakes travel just as far. An iron with three dots on a delicate viscose, or a missing bar under a wool wash, leads directly to shrinkage, faded colours and returns. As a care label manufacturer we print thousands of care lines each week, and this guide shares what brands most often need to know before they send us the content.
Where the system comes from
The symbols used across Europe are defined in ISO 3758, now in its 2023 edition, and administered by GINETEX, the international association for textile care labelling. The standard covers home washing, bleaching, drying and ironing, plus professional dry cleaning and wet cleaning. Industrial laundering follows a separate standard, ISO 30023.
The pictograms are registered trademarks of GINETEX, and their use is licensed through national member organisations. If you sell under your own brand, check your licence position with the member in your country, and always use the official drawings rather than redrawn versions.
The fixed order: five shapes, left to right
- Washtub – domestic washing, machine or hand
- Triangle – bleaching
- Square – drying, either in a tumble dryer (a circle inside) or naturally (lines inside)
- Iron – domestic ironing and pressing
- Circle – professional cleaning
Each symbol shows the harshest treatment the garment tolerates without lasting damage. Gentler treatment is always acceptable: a garment marked for 40 °C may be washed at 30 °C, never the other way round.
How the modifiers change a symbol
Figures in the washtub
The number is the maximum water temperature in °C: 30, 40, 60, 70 or 95. A hand in the tub means hand wash only, up to 40 °C. Dots inside the washtub belong to labelling systems used outside Europe, so for the EU market use numbers.
Bars underneath
Bars reduce mechanical action. One bar under the washtub means a mild cycle, two bars a very mild cycle, typical for machine-washable wool. Under the professional circle, one bar signals a mild process and two bars, with the wet-cleaning symbol, a very mild one.
Dots for heat
In the tumble-dry symbol, one dot means reduced heat and two dots normal heat. On the iron, one, two and three dots stand for low, moderate and high temperature, with GINETEX guidance of roughly 120, 160 and 210 °C at the sole plate.
The cross
A diagonal cross over any symbol forbids that treatment: do not wash, bleach, tumble dry, iron or dry clean.
Quick reference for designers
| Symbol, described | Instruction |
|---|---|
| Washtub with 30 | Machine wash, maximum 30 °C |
| Washtub with 40 and one bar | Mild cycle, maximum 40 °C |
| Washtub with a hand | Hand wash only |
| Triangle with two oblique lines | Oxygen bleach only |
| Crossed-out triangle | Do not bleach |
| Square with circle and one dot | Tumble dry at reduced heat |
| Square with one horizontal line | Dry flat |
| Square with one vertical line | Line dry |
| Iron with two dots | Iron at moderate temperature |
| Circle with P | Professional dry cleaning, perchloroethylene and listed solvents |
| Circle with F | Professional dry cleaning, hydrocarbon solvents |
| Circle with W | Professional wet cleaning |
What changed in 2023
The 2023 edition introduced a hand-wash symbol for ambient temperature and an iron-without-steam symbol, aligned several drawings with the GINETEX graphics and asked for the main symbols to share the same size and alignment. New solvents were also added to the professional-care letters. If your care artwork is older than 2024, it is worth reviewing at your next reorder; we can update the files during the proof stage.
Choosing the right symbols for a garment
The care line should reflect the most sensitive component of the finished product, not just the main fabric. A cotton shirt with a printed motif, a coat with leather trims or a knit with metallic yarn may need gentler settings than the base fabric suggests. Your fabric supplier’s test data and your own wash tests on a finished sample are the most reliable sources. When in doubt, choose the more cautious instruction.
Printing a care line that stays legible
- Keep every symbol at the same height and in one straight row.
- Allow clear space between pictograms so dots and bars do not merge after washing.
- Print on satin or nylon taffeta with resin thermal transfer for sharp, wash-resistant results.
- Place the symbols near the top of the label so they are visible without unfolding long multilingual text.
- Check the proof at actual size, not zoomed in on screen.
Our team prepares a digital proof for approval and, on request, samples that you can wash at the declared temperature before bulk production. More on materials and layouts is on our care labels page, and if you plan to add a QR code next to the symbols, see QR and DPP labels.
Frequently asked questions
Do care symbols need translating for each EU country?
No. The pictograms are language-free. Fibre composition, however, must appear in the official language of each country where the garment is sold.
Can I design my own version of the care symbols?
It is best not to. The symbols are registered trademarks and are defined in ISO 3758; use the official drawings so they are read correctly in every market.
Which symbol do I choose if fabric and trims need different care?
Choose the instruction suited to the most sensitive part of the finished garment. The care line describes the product as a whole.
Can you check my care line before printing?
Yes. We review the order and layout during the proof stage and point out obvious inconsistencies. The care settings themselves should come from your fabric and garment testing.
