Care Labelling

Robert Anderson from Curtain Clean Wellington (The Wash House)

It is mandatory under the Consumer Information Standards (Care Labelling) Regulations 2000 for many new textile goods supplied in New Zealand to comply with specific sections of the Standard AS/NZS 1957:1998 Textiles – Care labelling.

The purpose of the care labelling consumer information standard is to make sure that:
• consumers are aware of the method and cost of caring for textile products when they are buying them
• a cleaner can confidently use the information to take care of the textiles
• the textile’s life is not shortened by inappropriate care information or no information

• the textile is not damaged or destroyed by inappropriate care.

It is illegal to supply textile goods that do not comply with this standard and the regulations.

The regulations set out the types of textile goods covered by the standard and what parts of the standard apply to New Zealand.


The standard sets out the words, terms and symbols to use on a label to show the correct way to care for textile goods, including dry-cleaning and washing.


The regulations are issued under section 27 of the Fair Trading Act 1986.

Who do the regulations apply to?

Any person supplying, offering to supply or advertising the supply of new textiles, that require care labelling information, must comply with the regulations. Any person includes retailers, importers, distributors and manufacturers.


Types of supply include textile goods for sale in a shop, on internet auction sites, at markets or stalls or in craft shops.

What textile items have to be labelled with care information?
The care labelling standard contains more details and requirements, some of which are very technical. You should read both the regulations and the standard to make sure you understand all the labelling requirements.
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