Quick answer
Every clothing label carries two different kinds of information: the fibre composition (what the garment is made of) and the care symbols (how to wash it). In the EU, only the fibre composition is legally required — care symbols are voluntary. Learn the five basic symbol shapes and you can read almost any label in under ten seconds.
Kids' clothes get washed far more often than adult clothes. A toddler can go through three outfits before lunch, which means the little tag at the back of the neck ends up doing a lot of quiet work — and getting it wrong is the fastest way to shrink, felt or fade something you hoped to hand down to a younger sibling.
Here's how to actually read one.
The five shapes are the whole system
International care symbols follow the ISO 3758 standard, maintained in Europe by GINETEX. There are only five base shapes, and everything else is a modifier layered on top:
- The tub — washing
- The triangle — bleaching
- The square — drying
- The iron — ironing
- The circle — professional (dry) cleaning
Once you know the shapes, three modifiers tell you the rest. A cross through any symbol means don't do it at all. Bars underneath a symbol mean go gentler: one bar is a mild cycle with reduced mechanical action, two bars is very gentle. And numbers or dots inside a symbol indicate temperature.
Numbers, dots and bars, decoded
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Tub with "30" or "40" | Maximum wash temperature in °C — not a target, a ceiling |
| Tub with a hand in it | Hand wash only |
| One or two bars under the tub | Mild or very mild cycle — less spinning, less agitation |
| Square with a circle inside | Tumble drying is fine |
| Dots inside that circle | One dot = low heat, two dots = normal heat |
| Crossed-out square with circle | Do not tumble dry |
| Dots inside the iron | One dot = cool, two = medium, three = hot |
| Crossed-out triangle | No bleach of any kind |
The dryer is where most damage happens. High heat is what shrinks cotton and wears fibres down over time, so if you only change one habit, make it that one.
The other label: fibre composition
Separate from the symbols, there's usually a line like "100% organic cotton" or "80% cotton, 20% polyester". In the EU this one is not optional. Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 requires textile products to indicate their fibre composition whenever they're placed on the market, and the label has to be durable, legible, visible and securely attached — no ink stamp that washes off after two cycles.
A few details worth knowing:
- "100%", "pure" or "all" are the only wordings allowed for a single-fibre garment. If a label says "cotton" with no percentage, that's not the same claim.
- Only official fibre names from the regulation may be used, in the language of the country where it's sold — which is why Dutch labels often list katoen, polyester, elastaan.
- Small decorative fibres can be left out. Visible, separable purely decorative fibres up to 7% of the garment's weight don't have to appear in the composition.
- The regulation applies to products made up of at least 80% textile fibres by weight.
What the label doesn't tell you
This is the part that surprises most parents. Regulation 1007/2011 covers fibre names — it does not require care instructions, country of origin, or size. Care symbols are there because brands choose to put them there, and because they're genuinely useful, not because anyone made them mandatory.
It also says nothing about how the fibre was grown, what it was dyed with, or the conditions it was made in. That information lives in a different place: certification. A GOTS certification covers the organic content and the processing chain, while OEKO-TEX testing addresses harmful substances in the finished fabric. "100% cotton" on its own tells you the fibre and nothing more.
Reading labels the way a parent actually needs to
In practice, most kids' cotton basics ask for a 30 °C wash and no tumble drying, and there's a good reason to take that seriously rather than defaulting to 40. Lower temperatures reduce the risk of cotton fibres contracting, slow down colour fading, and use noticeably less energy — modern detergents are formulated to work at 30. Save the warmer wash for genuinely dirty or stained loads.
Two more things worth doing while the label is in your hand:
- Check the composition before you buy secondhand. Blends with a high synthetic content behave differently in the wash and shed more in the process.
- Look at where the label sits. A stiff woven tag at the back of the neck is the single most common complaint from children with sensory sensitivities. Printed or side-seam labels solve it. If you cut a tag out, photograph it first — you'll want the wash instructions later, especially if the piece is heading to a younger sibling.
FAQ
Do I have to follow the care label exactly?
The temperature shown is a maximum, not an instruction — washing cooler than stated is always allowed and usually kinder to the garment. Going hotter, or tumble drying something marked not to be, is where damage happens.
Are care symbols legally required in the EU?
No. EU Regulation 1007/2011 requires fibre composition labelling, but not washing instructions. Care symbols are a voluntary standard (ISO 3758, managed in Europe by GINETEX) that most brands follow because customers rely on them.
Will washing at 30 instead of 40 stop shrinkage?
It reduces the risk. Higher temperatures are more likely to shrink natural fibres like cotton and wool unless they've been pre-shrunk — and cotton that has already shrunk once won't shrink much again in later washes. Heat in the tumble dryer is the bigger culprit.
Why does my label list fibres in three languages?
Fibre names must appear in the official language of the country where the product is sold, so brands selling across Europe often print several. Only names from the regulation's official list may be used — no invented or misleading marketing terms.
Does "100% cotton" mean it's organic?
No. Fibre composition describes what the fibre is, not how it was grown or processed. Organic status is a separate certified claim — look for a GOTS licence number rather than the word "natural" on its own.
What does one bar under the wash tub mean?
A milder cycle with reduced mechanical action — less agitation and a gentler spin. Two bars means very gentle. It's about how roughly the machine handles the fabric, not the temperature.
Keep exploring
- How to Wash and Care for Organic Cotton Kids Clothes
- Are the Dyes in Kids' Clothes Safe? Azo Dyes, Allergies and What Labels Mean
- What Does GOTS-Certified Actually Mean for Baby Clothes?
- Do You Need to Wash New Kids' Clothes Before Wearing Them?
Everything we make is GOTS-certified organic cotton, cut oversized so it lasts through more than one child — and labelled so you can actually read it.