Care Labels

Common lingerie and compression garment Care Label symbols are described below and illustrated above.

Wash Tub with Hand   Hand wash only in maximum 30-degree Celsius water.

Wash tub   ‘Normal’ machine wash setting, water temperature shown (see notes below).

Wash Tub with ONE Line Under   ‘Permanent Press’ machine wash setting, water temperature shown.

Wash Tub with TWO Lines Under   ‘Delicate’ machine wash setting, water temperature shown.

Triangle with Cross   Do not use chlorine bleach.

Circle in Square with Cross   Do not use tumble drying.

Iron with Cross   Do not iron.

Circle with Cross   Do not dry clean.

Fabric Softener (not usually shown on label)   Do not use because they coat material fibres with a lubricating film that can degrade elastic performance.

NOTES ABOUT WATER TEMPERATURE

European garment symbols show the maximum temperature as a number in the ‘Wash Tub’ (30 = 30 degrees Celsius).

North American garment symbols show maximum temperature using dots (1 dot = 30 degrees Celsius, 2 dots = 40 degrees Celsius etc).

30 degrees Celsius feels ‘cool or cold’.

40 degrees Celsius feels ‘warm but not hot’.