CareLabelingSS-Final_mtd_mtd

Supporting Statement for Information Collection Provisions of
FTC Trade Regulation Rule on Care Labeling of
Textile Wearing Apparel and Certain Piece Goods as Amended
16 C.F.R. § 423
(OMB Control #: 3084-0103)
1.

Necessity for Collecting the Information

In 1971, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) determined that it is
unfair or deceptive to sell textile clothing (and piece goods used to make textile clothing)
without providing basic care information to consumers.1 The Commission found that, absent
care information, consumers suffer substantial economic injury when they are unable to shop for
clothing on the basis of care characteristics, and when they use improper care procedures that
damage clothing. The Commission also found evidence in the rulemaking record that most
manufacturers and importers of textile clothing did not disclose care instructions in a permanent
form. Accordingly, the Commission issued a trade regulation rule to require labels that fully
inform purchasers about how to effect regular care and maintenance to be permanently attached
to textile clothing.
The FTC Trade Regulation Rule on Care Labeling of Textile Wearing Apparel and
Certain Piece Goods as Amended (“Care Labeling Rule” or “Rule”), 16 C.F.R. § 423, requires
manufacturers and importers to attach a permanent care label to all covered textile clothing.
Also, manufacturers and importers of piece goods used to make textile clothing must provide the
same care information on the end of each bolt or roll of fabric. This information must fully
disclose either washing or dry cleaning instructions. If washing instructions are given, the label
must also disclose a drying procedure and, in some circumstances, bleaching and ironing care. If
dry cleaning instructions are given, the appropriate solvent(s) must be disclosed if all solvents
cannot be used. Use of standardized terminology is suggested, but not required, for all care
instructions.
2.

Use of the Information

Consumers use the information disclosed on care labels in making purchase decisions
and to avoid ineffective garment care practices or damage to garments. Professional cleaners
also use the information to avoid damaging or ineffective care procedures. Textile products that
are used to make clothing comprise a vast array of fibers, fabrics, and finishes. Each of these
component products may have unique care performance characteristics and require the use of
specific care techniques. The large number of products on the market makes it impracticable for
consumers and professional cleaners to be informed about appropriate care practices. If
manufacturers and importers of these products did not disclose care instructions to prospective
purchasers, consumers would be unable to determine with certainty what care procedures to
employ. In addition, consumers would not have the opportunity to consider care requirements

1

36 Fed. Reg. 23883 (1971).

Dated: February 2009

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along with other product attributes in making informed choices among competing textile
clothing products. The records may be inspected by Commission staff for law enforcement
purposes.
3.

Consideration of the Use of Improved Information Technology to Reduce Burden

Effective disclosure of care information to consumers entails labeling on garments
themselves so that consumers can be informed of proper care procedures at the time of purchase
and at the time of care; thus, providing an option for electronic disclosure pursuant to the
Government Paperwork Elimination Act, Pub. L. No. 105-277, Title XVII, 112 Stat. 2681-749,
is impracticable.
4.

Burden/Efforts to Identify Duplication/Availability of Similar Information

Except for a limited requirement under the Flammable Fabrics Act regulations, see 16
C.F.R. §§ 1602-1632, there is no other federal or state law or regulation that requires care
labeling of textile clothing. The Care Labeling Rule provides that in the event of a conflict
between its provisions and the rules issued under the Flammable Fabrics Act, the latter will take
precedence.2 During the 1983 amendment proceeding, the Commission found that there were no
known conflicts between the two sets of regulations.3 Before issuing the original Rule, the
Commission found evidence in the rulemaking record that most manufacturers and importers of
textile clothing did not disclose care instructions in a permanent form.
5.

Efforts to Minimize Burden on Small Businesses

The Commission has minimized the burden on all businesses in a number of ways. For
example, the Rule requires that only one method of care be listed. In August 2000, the
Commission considered but decided not to adopt a requirement for alternative care instructions.
See 65 Fed. Reg. 47261 (2000). If an item is both washable and dry cleanable, the Rule might
have required the care label to include instructions for both methods. This reduces the research
required to establish a reasonable basis for the care instruction. However, the Rule does not
limit disclosures to a single method of care. Thus, manufacturers that wish to include more
information may do so, provided they have a reasonable basis for each method listed on the
label.
One of the principal considerations in the Commission’s 1983 Rule amendment
proceeding was how to improve care information while reducing unnecessary burdens on
industry. To accomplish these ends, the Rule now outlines the necessary elements for both
washing and dry cleaning instructions. A warning system of labeling is used to minimize the
number of words necessary to give a complete care instruction. A glossary of standardized care

2

16 C.F.R. § 423.9.

3

48 Fed. Reg. 22741 (1983).

Dated: February 2009

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terms is recommended for use so that drafting a complete instruction will be easier and so that
instructions can be more easily understood.4
Manufacturers must have a reasonable basis for the care information they put on their
labels, because such information constitutes a material claim. During the 1983 amendment
proceeding, the Commission considered (but did not adopt) specific testing and recordkeeping
requirements. Instead, the Rule describes six categories of evidence that may be used to
establish a reasonable basis ranging from product tests to “other reliable evidence.”5
Manufacturers and importers have the widest possible latitude because the firms experience,
other industry expertise, current technical literature, and similar reliable evidence may provide
the required reasonable basis. A recordkeeping requirement was not considered necessary for
Commission enforcement purposes.
Evidence in the rulemaking record showed that retailers of piece goods were not, in many
cases, giving the consumer the care labels provided by the manufacturers. However, the record
also showed that the majority of consumers who did receive the labels did not sew them into
homemade garments. Based on this information, the Commission decided not to impose a duty
of distributing such labels and, in fact, relieved the piece goods manufacturers of the obligation
to supply such labels. Instead, such manufacturers must now only put the care instructions on
the end of each bolt or roll of cloth.
The original Rule required industry members to petition the Commission for all
exemptions and to submit samples or tests to support such petitions. The 1983 amendments
retained this petition system only for products that are claimed to be harmed in appearance by
the requirement for a permanent label.6 No industry member has requested an exemption since
2000. The other permitted exemptions may be taken automatically, based on a manufacturer’s
or importer’s determination that a product meets the criteria listed in the Rule. Thus, if a product
meets the criteria, it is not necessary to file a request for this exemption with the Commission.
6.

Consequences of Conducting Collection Less Frequently

The public disclosure required by this Rule consists of placing a single label on each
garment as it is manufactured or imported. To require less would defeat the objective of
informing the consumer of proper care procedures at the time of purchase and at the time of care.
7.

Circumstances Requiring Collection Inconsistent with Guidelines
The disclosures required by this Rule are consistent with all applicable guidelines

4

16 C.F.R. § 423, Appendix A.

5

16 C.F.R. § 423.6(c).

6

16 C.F.R. § 423.8(d).

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contained in 5 C.F.R. § 1320.5(d)(2).
8.

Solicitation of Comments/Consultation Outside the Agency

Over the years the FTC has had recurring contacts with affected companies and major
trade associations. For example, Commission staff has on-going liaison relationships with the
American Apparel and Footwear Manufacturers Association, the American Textile
Manufacturers Institute, the American Apparel Manufacturers Association, and the Textile
Distributors Association. Further, Commission staff has frequent contact with companies
subject to the Rule (both large multi-national corporations and small businesses entering the
market).
In the instant context, pursuant to OMB regulations implementing the PRA, Commission
staff, as it has in the past, sought public comment on PRA aspects of the Rule, as required by 5
C.F.R. § 1320.8(d). See 73 Fed. Reg. 64948 (October 31, 2008). No comments were received.
Consistent with 5 C.F.R. § 1320.12(c), staff is doing so again contemporaneous with this
submission.
9.

Payments or Gifts to Respondents
Not applicable.

10. & 11.

Assurances of Confidentiality and Matters of a Sensitive Nature

Since there are no recordkeeping or reporting requirements contained in this Rule,
confidentiality issues and questions of a sensitive nature are not involved.
12.

Estimated Annual Hours Burden: 7,566,000 hours, rounded to the nearest thousand
(solely relating to disclosure7).

Staff estimates that approximately 26,647 manufacturers or importers of textile apparel,
producing about 20.1 billion textile garments annually, are subject to the Rule’s disclosure
requirements. The burden of developing proper care instructions may vary greatly among firms,
primarily based on the number of different lines of textile garments introduced per year that
require new or revised care instructions. Staff estimates the burden of determining care
instructions to be 43 hours each year per respondent, for a cumulative total of 1,145,821 hours.
Staff further estimates that the burden of drafting and ordering labels is 2 hours each year per
respondent, for a total of 53,294 hours. Staff believes that the process of attaching labels is fully
automated and integrated into other production steps for about 40 percent of the approximately

7

The Care Labeling Rule imposes no specific recordkeeping requirements. Although the
Rule requires manufacturers and importers to have reliable evidence to support the
recommended care instructions, companies may provide as support current technical literature or
rely on past experience.
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19.1 billion garments that are required to have care instructions on permanent labels.8 For the
remaining 11.46 billion items (60 percent of 19.1 billion), the process is semi-automated and
requires an average of approximately two seconds per item, for a total of 6,366,667 hours per
year. Thus, the total estimated annual burden for all respondents is 7,565,782 hours (1,145,821
hours to determine care instructions + 53,294 hours to draft and order labels + 6,366,667 hours
to attach labels).
Associated labor cost: $61,410,000, rounded to the nearest thousand
Wage rates are based on information received from the U.S. Department of Labor and the
American Apparel Manufacturers Association.
Task

Hourly Rate

Burden Hours

Labor Cost

Determine care instructions

$

22.00

1,145,821

$25,208,062

Draft and order labels

$

16.27

53,294

$867,093

Attach labels

$

5.559

6,366,667

$35,335,002

TOTAL
13.

$61,410,157

Estimated Capital or Other Non-Labor Costs

Staff believes that there are no current start-up costs or other capital costs associated with
the Care Labeling Rule. Because the labeling of textile products has been an integral part of the
manufacturing process for decades, manufacturers have in place the capital equipment necessary
8

About 1 billion of the 20.1 billion garments produced annually are either not covered by
the Care Labeling Rule (gloves, hats, caps, and leather, fur, plastic, or leather garments) or are
subject to an exemption that allows care instructions to appear on packaging (hosiery).
9

For products that are imported, this work generally is done in the country where they
are manufactured. According to information compiled by an industry trade association using
data from the International Trade Commission, the U.S. Customs Service, and the U.S. Census
Bureau, approximately 95% of apparel and other textile products used in the United States is
imported. With the remaining 5% attributable to U.S. production at an approximate domestic
hourly wage of $9.50 to attach labels, staff has calculated a weighted average hourly wage of
$5.55 per hour attributable to U.S. and foreign labor combined. The estimated percentage of
imports supplied by particular countries is based on trade data for 2007 compiled by the Office
of Textiles and Apparel, International Trade Administration, and the U.S. Department of
Commerce. Wages in major textile exporting countries, factored into the above hourly wage
estimate, were based on 2006 data from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of International
Labor Affairs. See “International Comparisons of Hourly Compensation Costs for Production
Workers in Manufacturing,” Table 1, available at: http://www.bls.gov/fls/hcpwsupptabtoc.htm.
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to comply with the Rules labeling requirements. Based on knowledge of the industry, staff
believes that much of the information required by the Rule would be included on the product
label even absent those requirements.
14.

Estimated Cost to the Federal Government

Staff estimates a representative years cost imposed by the Rule during the course of the
three-year clearance period sought will be $106,474. Attorney, clerical, and other support
staff costs are included in this estimate, as are employee benefits.
15.

Program Changes or Adjustments

FTC staff has adjusted upward its prior hours burden estimate of 6,889,278 hours, for
which the Commission currently has OMB clearance, to 7,565,782 hours. The increased
disclosure burden is due to an increase in the number of textile garments produced, from 17.4
billion to 19.1 billion, that are required to have a permanent care label.

16.

Statistical Use of Information
There are no plans to publish, for statistical use, any information required by the Rule.

17.

Display of the Expiration Date for OMB Approval
Not applicable.

18.

Exceptions to the Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions
Not applicable.

Dated: February 2009

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