GUIDE TO THE CANADIAN CARE LABELLING PROGRAM
THE SYMBOLS MUST APPEAR IN THE ORDER
IN WHICH THE PROCEDURE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT SYMBOL
IS PERFORMED (WASHTUB, TRIANGLE, SQUARE, IRON, CIRCLE).
THIS ORDER MUST BE MAINTAINED EVEN IF ALL OF
THE SYMBOLS ARE NOT USED.
1.INTRODUCTION
(819)956-5644
CGSBSalesCentrePlaceduPortagePhaseIII,6B111Laurier
LabellingProgram.Thisinformationisissuedforconvenienceofreference
CareLabellingofTextiles(CAN/CGSB-86.1-M)andtherelevanttestsin
carerepresentedbythesymbolsorwordsisaccurate.
TextileTestMethods(CAN/CGSB-4.2-M).CopiesoftheseStandardsmay
beobtainedforafeefromthefollowingaddress:
ThisguideoutlinesthepurposeandrequirementsoftheCanadianCare
WhilethisbulletinrelatesspecificallytotheCanadianCareLabelling
onlyandshouldbereadinconjunctionwiththeNationalStandardofCanada-
ProgramandtheuseoftheCanadianCareSymbols,writteninstructionsandother
StreetHull,QC ;K1A1G6Telephone:(819)956-3500Facsimile:
symbolsystems(ISO,ASTM,etc.)mayalsobeused,providedthatthemethodof
2.THE CANADIAN CARE LABELLING PROGRAM
1)seampuckeringduetodifferentialshrinkageofpanels;2)
basicsymbolsillustratedinthethreeconventional"trafficlight"
fastness,dimensionalstability,effectofretainedchlorine(bleach)and
maximumsafeironingtemperature.Inaddition,theuseofthissystemsignifies
carpets,articlesthatarepredominantlyleatherand/orfur,yarnsandhosiery.
oftheNationalStandardofCanada-CareLabellingofTextiles.
offasteners;or6)performanceoftextileornon-textiletrim.
Thepurposeofthisvoluntaryprogramistoprovideameansbywhich
TheCanadianCareLabellingProgramrelatestothepropertiesofcolour
thatasaresultoftherestorativetreatment,thereshallbenoappreciable
changeintheappearanceofthearticle.Thepropertieswhichmaybeassessed
Thesystemisnotintendedtobeusedonupholsteredfurniture,mattresses,
Thesuccessoftheprogramrestsontheintegrityofthemanufacturers,
simpleandeasilyunderstoodformat.Theprogramisbasedonasystemoffive
blistering,delaminationordeteriorationofcoated,bonded,laminatedandf
importersandconsumerswhouseit.
informationonthecareoftextilearticlescanbeconveyedtotheconsumerina
colours.Eachofthesymbols,andtheirvariations,areoutlinedinsection8
bothEnglishandFrenchmaybeusedtoconveyspecialinstructionsnotcovered
forchangeinappearanceincludebutarenotlimitedto:
usedfabrics;3)stainingoffusibles;4)frayingofseams;5)deterioration
Itshouldbenoted,thatalthoughtheprogramisbasedonsymbols,wordsin
bytheappropriatesymbol(refertosection9ofthisguide).
3.ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM
manner.Inaddition,thedepartmentrespondstoanycomplaintsthatare
responsibleforadministeringtheprogramandverifyingthatthecare
received.ForfurtherassistanceconcerningtheCanadianCareLabelling
DirectorateofficeofIndustryCanada.
IndustryCanada,ConsumerProductsDirectorateis
informationprovidedonthelabelisaccurateandpresentedinthecorrect
Program,pleasecontactyournearestConsumerProducts
4.IMPORTANCE OF CARE LABELLING
Carelabellingisanimportantaidtoconsumers,drycleanersandcommercial
launderingestablishmentsasitprovidesameansbywhichanappropriatecare
basisofthecaremethodrequiredandreducesbotheconomiclossandthenumber
ofcomplaintsresultingfrominappropriatecleaningprocedures.
Inaddition,carelabellingenablesconsumerstochoosetextilesonthe
proceduremaybeselectedforanarticle.
5.MESSAGE CONVEYED BY CANADIAN CARE LABELS
caresymbolsprovidingthecomponenttowhichthesymbolsdonotapplyis
AdvertisingRegulations,e.g."Exclusiveoftrim",etc.,maynot
certainstandardsasoutlinedinSection2ofthisbulletin.
securelyattachedtoornearthecarelabel.Expressionsusedinrelationto
beusedinconjunctionwiththesymbols.
bemadeclearthatthesymbolsapplyonlytocolourfastness,effectofretained
Thecarelabelindicatestotheconsumerthemostappropriatemethodofcare
Themethodofcareprescribedbythesymbolsappliestotheentire
Shouldadealerchoosetousethecaresymbolsonhosieryoryarn,itshould
chlorineandmaximumsafeironingtemperatureandnottodimensional
linings,interlinings,etc..Inthecaseofremovablecomponentsthatcannot
withstandtherecommendedrestorationproceduresitispermissibletousethe
fibrecontentinformationasrequiredbytheTextileLabellingand
clearlyindicatedonthelabel,inEnglishandFrench,oronaseparatelabel
foranarticle,andgivestheconsumersomeassurancethatthearticlewillmeet
articleincludingcomponentssuchastrim,zippers,belts,buttons,
stability.
6.ELIGIBILITY TO USE CANADIAN CARE SYMBOLS
Canada-CareLabellingofTextiles(CAN/CGSB-86.1-M).
AlldealersmayusetheCanadiancaresymbolsprovidedthesymbolsareused
correctlyandinaccordancewithallprovisionsoftheNationalStandardof
7.DESCRIPTION OF THE CANADIAN CARE SYMBOLS
7.1BasicSymbols
8.2through8.6oftheNationalStandardofCanada-CareLabellingof
Textiles(CAN/CGSB-86.1-M).
Therearefivebasicsymbols.Thewashtubrepresentswashing,the
trianglebleaching,thesquaredrying,theironpressingandthecircle
drycleaning.Eachsymbol,itsvariationsandmeaningareoutlinedinsections
7.2ColourofSymbols
(509-301),amber(505-311)andgreen(503-327),identifiedinCanadianGeneral
Thecolourstobeusedcorrespondtothethreecoloursusedina
thecoloursofthesymbolsmustbeareasonablyclosematchtothecoloursred
ThisStandardisavailablefromtheSalesCentreoftheCanadianGeneral
conventionaltrafficlight,redfor"STOP",amber
for"BECAREFUL"andgreenfor"GOAHEAD".
Toensurethattheconsumerdoesnotbecomeconfusedbyincorrectshades,
StandardsBoardstandard,StandardPaintColors(1-GP-12,PartII).
StandardBoardattheaddressprovidedintheintroduction.
7.3ProhibitiveSymbols
NOTE:Allredsymbolsmustbecrossed-outtoemphasizethe
harmedbytheuseofchlorinebleachoraredcrossed-outironmustnotbeused
redcrossed-outtrianglemustnotbeusedonatextilearticlewhichwillnotbe
thecareprocedureitrepresentswoulddamagethetextilearticle.Therefore,a
onatextilearticlewhichwillnotbeharmedbyironing.
Aredcrossed-outsymbolmayonlybeusedwhenevidencecanbeprovidedthat
prohibitionofthetreatmentrepresentedbythatsymbol.
7.4TemperatureMarkings
a)WashSymbolThetemperaturesofthewashwater
b)IroningSymbolDotsortemperatures(°C)may
washingtemperatures:30°C,40°C,50°C,and70°C.Washing
watertemperaturesotherthan30°C,40°C,50°Cand70°Cmustnotbeused.
haveasafeironingtemperatureasindicatedonthesymbolbytheactual
beusedasdescriptivemarkingsontheironsymbol,althoughdotsare
temperatureornumberofdots.Thetemperatureequivalentsforthedots
preferred.Textilearticlesbearinganyoftheironingsymbolsmust
areasfollows:Ironingtemperaturesotherthan110°C,150°Cand200°C
mustbeindicatedindegreesCelsius.TheStandardallowsforfourmaximum
mustnotbeused.
7.5ColourofTemperatureandotherDescriptiveMarkings
samecolourastherelevantbasicsymbolorinanysuitabledarkercolour
Temperaturemarkingsaswellasotherdescriptivemarkings,eg.
temperature(°C)or"hand",inthewashingsymbolsmaybeidentifiedinthe
ambersymbols;andamberandgreenforredsymbols.
exceptredandamberforgreensymbols;redandgreenfor
8.USE OF THE CANADIAN CARE SYMBOLS
8.1SelectionofAppropriateSymbols
laboratory,toassesswhetherallthecomponentsinthearticlearecompatible
Dealersshouldfirstattempttoobtainwhatevercareinformationtheycan
textilearticlesuchasthebuttons,trim,zippers,belting,interfacing,
intermsofthecaremethodrequiredtorestorethearticletoanacceptable,
totestthefinishedarticle,byusingeithertheirownfacilitiesoraprivate
fromthefabricsupplierandthesuppliersoftheothercomponentsofthe
usablecondition.
etc.Takingthisinformationintoconsideration,dealersshouldthenarrange
8.2RequiredTests
Canada-TextileTestMethods(CAN/CGSB-4.2).
Section8oftheNationalStandardofCanada-CareLabellingof
Textilesidentifiestheteststhatmustbeperformedandspecifiesthe
ThesetestsmustbeperformedinaccordancewiththeNationalStandardof
liststherecommendedtestmethodsfortheassessmentofappearancechanges.
criteriafortheusageofeachofthecaresymbols.AppendixAofthestandard
8.3TextileTestingLaboratories
laboratorieshasbeenincludedinAppendixAofthisguide.
ThereareanumberofprivatetextiletestinglaboratoriesinCanadawhich
willtestarticlesforcarelabellingonafee-for-servicebasis.Alistof
8.4RequiredNumberofSymbols
washingbeshownwiththeappropriatedrycleaningsymbol;
maybesafelyused,itisrecommendedthatwhereacare
desirablethatthesymbolwarningagainstdrycleaningbeshownalong
thesymbolwarningagainstchlorinebleachingbeshownalongwiththe
showninadditiontothesymbolsforsafeprocedures.
withtheappropriatewashingsymbol.
bleachbutmayinfactbedamagedbyit,itisdesirablethat
cleaned,itisdesirablethatthesymbolwarningagainst
onatextilethatisnormallyconsideredwashablebutmustinfactbedry
onatextilethatiswashablebutnotdrycleanable,itis
condition.Forexample,
foratextilethatisnormallyconsideredbleachableinchlorine-type
appropriatewashingsymbol;
procedurecannotbesafelyused,thesymbolwarningagainstthatprocedurebe
Astheabsenceofaparticularcaresymbolmayimplythatthecareprocedure
Itisnotnecessarytouseallfivesymbols.Itisonlynecessarytousea
sufficientnumberofsymbolstorestorethetextiletoanacceptable,usable
8.5OrderofSymbols
thatsymbolisperformed(washtub,triangle,square,iron,circle).Thisorder
Thesymbolsmustappearintheorderinwhichtheprocedureassociatedwith
mustbemaintainedevenifallofthesymbolsarenotused.
8.6PenaltiesforMisuseoftheCareSymbols
takenundertheTextileLabellingAct.
willbediscussedwiththedealeridentifiedonthefibrecontentlabel,to
AnyerrorswhicharediscoveredbyofficialsofIndustryCanada
ensurethattheyaremadeawareoftheproblemandcanacttocorrectit.
ContinuedmisuseoftheCanadianCaresymbolscouldresultinactionbeing
9.SUPPLEMENTARY CARE INFORMATION
leger-pasdesavon",wouldbeaddedtoanarticleforwhichthis
additionalwritteninstructionsuchas"Washseparately/Laverseul"
Ifandwhennecessary,writtenwordsinEnglishandinFrencharetobe
instructionwouldbeappropriate.Foranarticlehavingonecomponentand/or
colourthatmeetstherequirementsforcolourfastnessbutnotforstaining,an
wouldbeshown.
used,toprovidesupplementarycareinformationwhichisnotconveyedbythe
symbols.Forexample,"Usemilddetergent-nosoap/Utiliserundetergent
10.REQUIREMENTS FOR CANADIAN CARE LABELS
10.1TypeofMaterialforLabel
TheStandarddoesnotspecifyfromwhattypeofmaterialorfabric
thelabelmustbemade,however,asmanyconsumershave
complainedaboutstiff,scratchylabelswhichirritatetheskin,theStandard
specifiesthatdealersshouldselectalabelmaterialwhichwillbenon-
irritatingwhenitisinclosecontactwiththeskin.
10.2LocationofLabel
label.However,thecarelabelmustbepositionedinareasonablyconspicuous
TheStandarddoesnotspecifyanyonelocationforthecare
areaofthetextilearticle.Insideapantlegorasleeveisnotacceptable.
10.3PermanencyofLabel
labelledontheendoftheboltcoreorspool.
legibleandfirmlyattachedforaminimumof10cleaningsorthroughoutthe
Thematerialusedforlabels,thesymbolsandanyadditionalwritten
informationmustbecapableofwithstandingtherestorativetreatmentsthe
Anexceptiontothisrequirementhasbeenmadeforpiecegoodswhichmaybe
usefullifeofthearticle,whicheverisless.
symbolsrepresentandmustbeappliedinsuchamannerthattheywillremain
10.4UseofCareSymbolsonPackaging
piecegoods.Althoughnotrequired,itmaybedesirabletorepeatthecarelabel
withallaspectsoftheStandard,andthecolorusedisnotoneofor
onthepackageofpre-packagedgoods,thehangtag,adhesivestickersorother
onesinglecolor,providedthetextileispermanentlylabelledinaccordance
non-permanentlabels.Thismaybedonebyrepeatingthesymbolsexactlyasthey
doesnotbearanyresemblancetothethreetrafficlightcolours.
appearonthepermanentlabel,oralternatively,itispermissabletodosoin
Asstatedpreviously,thecarelabelmustbepermanentexceptinthecaseof
11."LOW LABELLING"
labelling,misinformstheconsumerorcleaner,iscontrarytotheStandard
factualinformationastotherecommendedcareprocedures.(See
section7.3ofthisguide)
andwashablearticleswithsymbolsindicating"DryCleanOnly".Such
andmustbeavoided.Everyeffortmustbemadetoensurethatcarelabelsbear
Lowlabelling,orunder-labelling,isillustratedbychlorinebleachable
articleswithacaresymbolindicating"DonotuseChlorineBleach"
APPENDIX A
NOTE:Thislistingoflaboratoriesimpliesnocertificationor
TextileTestingLaboratories
listingofalllaboratoriesinCanadawhichprovidetextiletestingservices.
endorsementbytheDepartmentofIndustry,norisitnecessarilyacomplete
ANY ERRORS WHICH ARE DISCOVERED BY OFFICIALS OF INDUSTRY CANADA
WILL BE DISCUSSED WITH THE DEALER IDENTIFIED ON THE FIBRE CONTENT LABEL,
TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE MADE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND CAN ACT TO CORRECT IT.
CONTINUED MISUSE OF THE CANADIAN CARE SYMBOLS COULD RESULT IN
ACTION BEING TAKEN UNDER THE TEXTILE LABELLING ACT.
Copyright © 1997 Poem by Nari
R E A L I Z A T I O N