Laundry symbol
A laundry symbol, also called a care symbol, is a pictogram indicating the manufacturer's suggestions as to methods of washing, drying, dry-cleaning and ironing clothing. Such symbols are written on labels, known as care labels or care tags, attached to clothing to indicate how a particular item should best be cleaned. While there are internationally recognized standards for the care labels and pictograms, their exact use and form differ by region. In some standards, pictograms coexist with or are complemented by written instructions.
Standards
, the France-based European association for textile care labelling, was formed in 1963 in part to define international standards for the care and labelling of textiles. By the early 1970s, GINETEX was working with ISO to develop international standards for textile labelling, eventually leading to the ISO 3758 standard, Textiles – Care labelling code using symbols. ISO 3758 was supplemented in 1993, revised in 2005 and again in 2012 and 2023 with reviews of the standard held on a five-year cycle.In March 1970, the Canadian Government Specifications Board published 86-GP-1, Standard for Care Labelling of Textiles, which promoted a symbol-based textile care labelling system in which symbols were colored: green indicated "no precautions are necessary", yellow indicated "some caution is necessary", and red indicated "prohibited". Publication 86-GP-1 was revised several times over the following three decades; the most noteworthy change was in 1979, when temperatures changed from Fahrenheit to Celsius, and any additional instructions were to be added in text, in both English and French. In 2003, the system was withdrawn in favor of a black-and-white symbol-based system harmonized with North American and international standards. The inclusion of care symbols on garments made or sold in Canada has always been voluntary; only fabric content labels are mandatory.
In 1996, in the United States, ASTM International published a system of pictorial care instructions as D5489 Standard Guide for Care Symbols for Care Instructions on Textile Products, with revisions in 1998, 2001, 2007, 2014, and 2018.
American Cleaning institute developed and published their guide to fabric care symbols.
Additional textile care labelling systems have been developed for Australia, China, and Japan. Worldwide, all of these systems tend to use similar pictograms or labelling to convey laundry care instructions., the pictograms are not encoded in Unicode standards, because these symbols are not in the public domain across various countries, and are copyrighted.
Pictograms
General
The care label describes the allowable treatment of the garment without damaging the textile. Whether this treatment is necessary or sufficient, is not stated. A milder than specified treatment is always acceptable. The symbols are protected and their use is required to comply with the license conditions; incorrect labelling is prohibited. A bar below each symbol calls for a gentler treatment than usual and a double bar for a very gentle treatment.Washing
A stylized washing machine is shown. In international standards, the number in the tub means the maximum wash temperature. In the North American standard, dots are used instead of numbers, where more dots indicating hotter temperatures.In the European standard, the level of wash agitation recommended is indicated by bars below the wash tub symbol. Absence of bar indicates a maximum agitation, a single bar indicates medium agitation, and a double bar indicates very minimal agitation. A hand in the tub signifies that only hand washing is allowed. A cross through washtub means that the textile may not be washed under normal household conditions.