The Federal Care Label Rule recently avoided repeal, with the Federal Trade Commission voting 5-0 in favor of retaining the directive, according to a report in National Clothesline.
The regulation was established in 1971, deeming it to be unfair or deceptive for clothing manufacturers to sell garments without providing clear, concise instructions for how to properly care for the items.
In recent years, the rule’s detractors have cited that many of today’s care symbols are outdated, with some of the more modern cleaning methods excluded from the garment care instructions.
In 2011, the FTC sought comments on the subject from consumers and industry stakeholders, with the bulk of those comments in favor of keeping care labels.
This issue was revisited last year, after the Commission announced its intentions to repeal the rule. However, once again, the vast majority of statements opposed the repeal of the care label rule.
“The public comments the Federal Trade Commission has received during these reviews have highlighted the many benefits that care labels provide to both buyers and cleaners,” stated FTC Chair Lina Kahn, in a National Clothesline interview.
The Coin Laundry Association was among those submitting comments in opposition to the FTC’s recommendation to repeal the rule. The CLA’s comments were submitted jointly, along with those of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers and the American Cleaning Institute.
The Drycleaning & Laundry Institute also separately submitted comments opposing the repeal, which would have resulted in clothing manufacturers no longer being required to place care label instructions on their garments.
“We believe care labels provide important information for our self-service customers, enabling them to successfully and properly launder their garments without damage,” explained CLA President and CEO Brian Wallace. “Care labels also are an important part of the very basic processing of garments at the wash-dry-fold counter. Most laundry attendants are trained to look at the care label first to identify the proper way to care for particular garments.
“If manufacturers were no longer required to include care labels, we feel the potential result very likely would be an increase in customer complaints regarding damaged garments,” Wallace continued. “And, for garment-care professionals, it would be a rather murky redress to require their customers go back to a clothing retailer or manufacturer for satisfaction over a damaged item.”
Beyond the association’s submitted comments, Wallace also met with FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra to discuss the matter directly and further emphasize the laundromat industry’s concerns over the repeal of this rule.
“Fortunately, we’ve been able to stop the repeal of the current rule,” Wallace said, “but also perhaps motivate the FTC to revisit its current care labeling standard and to look for ways to improve it, based on today’s garments and modern cleaning methods.”
