Care Labeling SS - 04-05-2018-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
for both washing and dry cleaning instructions. A warning system of labeling, that

2

16 C.F.R. § 423.9.

3

48 Fed. Reg. 22,741 (1983).
2

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.

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

On January 16, 2018, the Commission sought public comment in connection with the
FTC’s latest Paperwork Reduction Act (“PRA”) clearance request for these Rules, in
accordance with 5 C.F.R. 1320.8(d). See 83 Fed. Reg. 2,156 (January 16, 2018). 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). Staff anticipates the Commission will take its next action by the
summer of 2018.

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.

Estimated annual hours burden: 32,600,587 hours (solely relating to disclosure7).

12.

Staff estimates that approximately 10,744 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

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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.

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instructions to be 100 hours each year per firm, for a cumulative total of 1,074,400 hours. Staff
further estimates that the burden of drafting and ordering labels is 80 hours each year per firm,
for a total of 859,520 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 32,600,587 hours (1,074,400
hours to determine care instructions + 859,520 hours to draft and order labels + 30,666,667
hours to attach labels).
Estimated annual cost burden: $214,221,229 (solely relating to labor costs). The
chart below summarizes the total estimated costs.
Task

Hourly Rate9

Burden Hours

Labor Cost

Determine care instructions

$

28.00

1,074,400

$30,083,200

Draft and order labels

$

18.00

859,520

$15,471,360

Attach labels

$

5.5010

30,666,667

$168,666,669

TOTAL

$214,221,229

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

All hourly rates except for “Attach labels” are exclusively from the U.S. Dep’t of Labor, Bureau of
Labor Statistics, “Occupational Employment Statistics—May 2016,” found on Table 1 Attachment to
Press Release, at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.t01.htm.
10

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 $11 to attach labels (derived
from the U.S. Dep’t of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Occupational Employment Statistics—May
2016” which is cited in footnote nine), staff has calculated a weighted average hourly wage of $5.50 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 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 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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13.

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 downward the estimated annual hourly burden (32,600,587
hours in 2018 and 34,742,227 hours in 2015) because there are fewer estimated entities
subject to disclosure requirements. Additionally the estimated annual labor burden went
down for the same reason even though hourly rates went up slightly.

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.

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