Care Labeling SS - 3-19-2015-FINAL

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 permanent labels that fully inform purchasers about how to
care for and maintain textile clothing.
The Commission’s 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,
non-exempted 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,
or that the item cannot be cleaned if such is the case. 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. For exempted items, the Rule requires disclosure of
care instructions on a hang tag, on the package, or in some other conspicuous place.
2.

Use of the Information

Consumers use the information disclosed on care labels to make purchase
decisions and to avoid ineffective garment care practices or damage to garments.
Professional cleaners also use the information to avoid damaging garments or ineffective
care procedures. Textile products that are used to make clothing comprise a vast array of
fibers, fabrics, and finishes. Each of these 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
1

36 Fed. Reg. 23,883 (1971).
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unable to determine with certainty what care procedures to employ. In addition,
consumers would not have the opportunity to consider care requirements, along with
other product attributes, in making informed choices among competing textile clothing
products.
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.
Except for certain exempted items, the Rule requires a label disclosing a method of care or
that the item cannot be cleaned if such is the case. In August 2000, the Commission
considered but decided not to require 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. By not requiring the disclosure of more than
one care method, the Rule avoids imposing additional costs to establish a reasonable basis for
the additional care method. However, the Rule does not prohibit the disclosure of more than
one 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
2

16 C.F.R. § 423.9.

3

48 Fed. Reg. 22741 (1983).
2

for both washing and dry cleaning instructions. A warning system of labeling, that
where appropriate succinctly identifies cleaning methods to avoid, is used to minimize
the number of words necessary to give a complete care instruction. A glossary of
standardized care 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 apply 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.
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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7.

Circumstances Requiring Collection Inconsistent with Guidelines

The disclosures required by this Rule are consistent with all applicable
guidelines 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 an on-going liaison relationship with
the American Apparel and Footwear Association. Further, Commission staff has frequent
contact with companies subject to the Rule (both large multi-national corporations and small
businesses entering the market).
Pursuant to OMB regulations implementing the Paperwork Reduction Act (“PRA”),
Commission staff sought public comment in connection with the FTC’s latest PRA clearance
request for these Rules, in accordance with 5 C.F.R. 1320.8(d). See 80 Fed. Reg. 1,411
(January 9, 2015). No comments were received. Consistent with 5 C.F.R. § 1320.12(c),
Commission staff is doing so again contemporaneous with this submission.
As part of its regulatory review program, the Commission is currently reviewing the
Care Labeling Rule. Among other things, the Commission sought comment on the overall
costs, benefits, necessity, regulatory and economic impact of, and possible modifications to,
the Rule. See Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Public Comment, 76
Fed. Reg. 41,148 (July 13, 2011); Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Public
Comment, 77 Fed. Reg. 58,338 (September 20, 2012). The Commission held a public
roundtable on the proposed amendments on March 28, 2014. See 79 Fed. Reg. 9,442
(February 19, 2014).
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.

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Estimated annual hours burden: 34,742,227 hours (solely relating to disclosure 7).

12.

Staff estimates that approximately 22,642 manufacturers or importers of textile
apparel, producing about 18.4 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 100 hours each year per firm, for a cumulative total of
2,264,200 hours. Staff further estimates that the burden of drafting and ordering labels is 80
hours each year per firm, for a total of 1,811,360 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 18.4 billion garments that are required to have care instructions
on permanent labels. 8 For the remaining 11.04 billion items (60 percent of 18.4 billion), the
process is semi-automated and requires an average of approximately ten seconds per item, for
a total of 30,666,667 hours per year. Thus, the total estimated annual burden for all firms is
34,742,227 hours (2,264,200 hours to determine care instructions + 1,811,360 hours to draft
and order labels + 30,666,667 hours to attach labels).
Estimated annual cost burden: $258,329,000, rounded to the nearest thousand (solely
relating to labor costs). The chart below summarizes the total estimated costs.
Task

Hourly Rate

Burden
Hours

Labor Cost

Determine care instructions

$

26.00

2,264,200

$58,869,200

Draft and order labels

$

17.00

1,811,360

$30,793,120

Attach labels

$

5.50 9

30,666,667

$168,666,669

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 can sometimes rely on current technical literature or
past experience rather than testing.
8

About 1 billion of the 19.4 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 imported products, the labels generally are attached in the country where the
products are manufactured. According to information compiled by an industry trade
association using data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade
Administration and the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 97.5 % of apparel used in the
United States is imported. With the remaining 2.5 % attributable to U.S. production at an
approximate domestic hourly wage of $10 to attach labels, staff has calculated a weighted
average hourly wage of $5.50 per hour attributable to U.S. and foreign labor combined. The
5

Task

Hourly Rate

Burden
Hours

$258,328,989

TOTAL

13.

Labor Cost

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 to comply with the Rule’s 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 year’s cost imposed by the Rule during the course of
the three-year clearance period sought will be approximately $100,000. 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 the estimated annual hourly burden, almost
exclusively because the AAFA revised upward the compliance burden estimates.
Additionally a small factor in the increase was more estimated garments annually in 2014
than in 2011.
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.

estimated percentage of imports supplied by particular countries is based on trade data for the
year ending in September 2014 compiled by the Office of Textiles and Apparel, International
Trade Administration. Wages in major textile exporting countries, factored into the above
hourly wage estimate, were based on 2012 data from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau
of International Labor Statistics. See Table 1.1 Indexes of hourly compensation costs in
manufacturing, U.S. dollar basis, 1996-2012 (Index, U.S. = 100) available at:
http://www.bls.gov/fls/#compensation.
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18.

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

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