EU Textile Labelling Requirements (Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011)

Textile products sold in the European Union must carry a durable, legible and securely attached label that indicates their fibre composition. This is required under Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 on textile fibre names and related labelling. The label must use only the fibre names listed in the regulation, must not use misleading abbreviations, and must be available in the official language or languages of the Member State where the product is sold. For practical guidance, the European Commission also provides information on textile labels in the EU.

1. Scope: Which Products Are Covered

Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 applies to textile products that contain at least 80 percent by weight of textile fibres. This covers garments, home textiles, fashion accessories made of textiles, and many semi-finished or made-up textile articles. The European Commission’s textile ecosystem page gives an overview of the sector and the applicable rules: Textiles, leather and fur in the EU.

Examples of products in scope

Clothing (T-shirts, sweaters, trousers, dresses), outerwear (coats, rainwear), socks and hosiery, bed linen, towels, curtains, upholstery fabrics, textile accessories with a high textile content (scarves, shawls, caps), and textile components of footwear or bags if they reach the 80 percent threshold.

2. Key Requirements Under EU Law

2.1 Fibre composition

Every textile product must indicate its fibre composition in descending order of weight. Percentages must be shown clearly and must add up to 100. You can learn more about correct product labelling for EU compliance in our Labelling Requirements for GPSR Compliance article.

Correct examples:

60 % cotton, 40 % polyester
75 % wool, 25 % polyamide
Outer fabric: 65 % polyester, 35 % cotton; Lining: 100 % polyamide

If the product has more than one textile component that is made of different materials (for example, a jacket with a separate lining or a detachable hood), the composition of each component must be indicated separately.

2.2 Material names (official fibre names only)

Only the official textile fibre names listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 can be used. Trade names and marketing terms cannot replace the official fibre name. For instance, “elastane” is the correct EU fibre name, while commercial names such as “Lycra” may appear only as additional information and not in place of the required fibre name.

Using abbreviations that are not defined in the regulation (such as “polycotton” or “visc”) is not permitted, because it can mislead consumers or make the label unclear in translated versions.

2.3 Non-textile parts of animal origin

If a textile product contains animal-origin parts (for example leather patches on jeans, real fur trim on a parka, down, feathers, horn or bone buttons), this must be stated explicitly using the wording:

“Contains non-textile parts of animal origin.”

This information must be clearly visible to the consumer at the point of sale, just like the fibre composition.

2.4 Label durability and attachment

Labels must be durable, easily legible, visible and accessible throughout the product’s normal life. They must be securely attached to the product (commonly by sewing or an equally permanent method) so that handling, transport, or normal consumer use does not remove or destroy the information.

For small textile items where sewing a label is impractical, the regulation allows for alternative permanent methods (for example, durable printing on the product or on the packaging if justified). For more on product documentation, see our GPSR Technical File Documentation Guide.

2.5 Language requirements

Fibre composition must be provided in the official language or languages of the Member State where the product is made available to the consumer. This is clearly set out on the Commission’s guidance page on textile labelling: EU textile label guidance.

For example, products sold in Germany must show the fibre composition in German (Baumwolle, Polyester, Wolle), in France in French (coton, polyester, laine), and in Italy in Italian (cotone, poliestere, lana). A single English-only label is not sufficient if the product is marketed across several EU countries.

2.6 Decorative fibres and exceptions

The regulation allows for certain minor or decorative fibres to be disregarded in the percentage totals where they are visible, easily identifiable and make up no more than 7 percent of the total weight, provided they are added purely for decorative effect.

There are also specific exemptions for products listed in Annex V (for example, some small textile items, watch straps made partly of textile, textile components of toys). These items do not always need a full composition label, but businesses should confirm their product’s status against Annex V before relying on an exemption.

3. What the EU Textile Labelling Regulation Does Not Require

Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 focuses on fibre names and fibre composition only. It does not by itself require:

• Country of origin
• Size or dimensions
• Wash care or maintenance instructions

These elements are often added voluntarily, or they may be required by other legislation, standards or retailer specifications. Including them is good practice, but it is not what this regulation is about. To learn more about how labelling fits into product safety obligations, visit our EU Compliance Guide for Selling Consumer Products.

4. Compliance Responsibilities and Market Surveillance

Legal responsibility for correct textile labelling lies with the economic operator that first places the product on the EU market. That can be the EU manufacturer, the importer from a non-EU country, or in some cases the distributor who markets the product under its own name.

Market surveillance authorities in EU Member States can check products at customs, in warehouses, or in retail. If labels are missing, not in the correct language, use non-approved fibre names, or fail to mention animal-origin parts, authorities can require corrective action or withdraw the products from the market.

For general guidance on market surveillance and corrective actions, you can review our article How to Handle a Product Recall under the EU GPSR.

5. Examples of Correct and Incorrect Labelling

Correct examples

Example 1: Jeans with leather patch
98 % cotton, 2 % elastane
Contains non-textile parts of animal origin

Example 2: Winter jacket
Outer shell: 100 % polyester
Lining: 100 % polyamide
Padding: 100 % polyester

Example 3: Women’s blouse sold in France and Belgium
55 % lin, 45 % coton (FR)
55 % linnen, 45 % katoen (NL)

Incorrect examples

“Poly-cot/cot mix” (uses non-approved abbreviations, unclear)
“Lycra 5 %, cotton 95 %” (must say “elastane 5 %” and may add “(Lycra®)” as supplementary)
English-only label for products sold in Germany, France and Italy
“100 % wool” on a product that actually includes a 10 % polyester lining

6. Future Changes: Sustainability, Circularity and Digital Product Passport

The European Commission has announced that it intends to update and modernise Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 so that it supports the EU’s broader sustainability and circular-economy goals. This will likely include requirements on:

• Durability and reparability information
• Recycled content and fibre origin
• Better alignment with green claims and environmental labelling

In parallel, the EU is introducing the Digital Product Passport (DPP), which will require many textile products to carry a machine-readable code (for example, QR code or NFC tag) that links to a digital record. This record will contain detailed information on the product’s composition, manufacturing, possibly environmental footprint, and end-of-life options. The DPP will not replace the basic fibre-composition label, but it will complement it and make product data accessible to authorities, recyclers and consumers.

For related insights on EU labelling and sustainability documentation, see The GPSR Risk Analysis Process and Chemical Testing for EU Compliance: REACH, RoHS and POPs Explained.

7. How EaseCert | GPSR Compliance Can Help

At EaseCert | GPSR Compliance, we mainly prepare technical documentation and General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 files for non-food consumer products. Textile labelling is often the missing piece in otherwise complete product files. We can:

• Review your existing textile labels against Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011.
• Provide fibre-composition wording in multiple EU languages.
• Check whether your product must carry the “Contains non-textile parts of animal origin” statement.
• Align your textile labels with your GPSR technical file, so that market surveillance authorities receive consistent information.