How to Read a Kids' Clothing Label: Canada and US Rules Explained

One fibre in the fabric

Menton Organic Cotton Blouse for Girls

The fabric is 100% combed organic cotton and the garment is GOTS-certified: one fibre, so there is no blend to decode. A soft blouse for ages 2 to 6, designed in Canada.

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What does a kids' clothing label have to say?

It depends on the country, but every label in Canada and the US must list the fibres and identify the company responsible for the garment. The US adds country of origin and care instructions as legal requirements. Canada leaves care instructions up to the company and only requires country of origin if the label calls the item imported, the Competition Bureau says.

Where to find it: most garments have a sewn-in label at the back of the neck or on the inside side seam. Some brands print the details straight onto the fabric instead. In the US, a garment with a neck must show the country of origin on the front of a label at the inside centre of the neck, according to the FTC.

Here is what each line means, and which rule puts it there.

How do I read the fibre content?

Read the percentages, not the product name. A shirt sold as “cotton” can be a cotton and polyester blend, and the fibre line is where that shows. In Canada, each fibre that makes up 5% or more of the total must appear by its generic name with its percentage, in both English and French, according to the Competition Bureau. The FTC sets the same 5% line in the US, where smaller amounts are listed as “other fibre” (wool is the exception and must always be named).

A few things to look for on a child's clothes:

1. Generic names. Cotton, polyester, nylon, viscose, elastane or spandex. Trade names may appear too, but the generic name is the one the rules require.
2. Separate parts. Lining, trims or a contrasting panel are sometimes listed on their own line, such as “Shell” and “Lining”.
3. A small stretch fibre. A few percent of elastane in leggings or a fitted top is common. Canada's guide only requires fibres at 5% or more to be named, so it may not appear.

If you want one fibre against your child's skin, the fibre line is the quickest test. Our guide to the best fabric for kids' clothes compares cotton, blends and synthetics for everyday wear, and the Menton blouse above is a single-fibre example.

What is a CA number or an RN number on a clothing label?

A CA number is a Canadian registration number for the company responsible for the garment. An RN number is the US version. A CA number is five digits after the letters CA, such as CA00000, and is open to Canadian manufacturers, processors, finishers, importers and sellers of textiles, the Competition Bureau says. An RN is issued by the FTC, and only US-based businesses can get one. Foreign companies put their name on the label instead, or the name or RN of a US company involved in importing or selling the product.

Both numbers can be looked up for free. Canada runs a CA number search through Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and the FTC runs an RN search, which it says lets “consumers or other industry members” find the business. This is useful when a brand you don't know is selling online and you want to know who is behind it.

How do I read the care label and laundry symbols?

Start with the five basic symbols, one each for washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional cleaning. That is how Canada's Office of Consumer Affairs groups them. Dots inside the washing symbol show water temperature: one dot is cool (30 °C) and six dots is near boiling (95 °C). Bars help show how gentle the treatment should be, such as a permanent press or delicate setting. Each group also has a “do not” symbol, such as do not wash, do not bleach and do not tumble dry.

The two countries treat care labels differently:

• Canada: “Care labelling, in the form of either written words or symbols, is a voluntary program in Canada,” the Competition Bureau says. If a label gives care instructions, they must be accurate. The national standard behind the Canadian symbols was withdrawn in October 2017, according to the Office of Consumer Affairs, but the symbols are still in use.
• United States: the FTC Care Labeling Rule requires a permanent care label that stays readable for the life of the garment. It must give a washing or a dry-cleaning instruction. Symbols from the ASTM D5489-96c system may replace words.

The US rule has a detail worth knowing on a busy laundry day. If a label says only “machine wash” with no temperature, regular use of hot water up to 63 °C (145 °F) won't harm the garment. If it says only “tumble dry”, any dryer setting is fine. A label that names a temperature, such as “machine wash cold”, is usually telling you hotter water may cause damage.

A label tells you what the garment can take, which is not always what keeps it looking good longest. For clothes you plan to hand down, washing cooler than the maximum and line drying is gentler. Our guide to clothes made to be handed down covers what to check on seams and buttons. If washed clothes still smell, see why kids' clothes smell after washing.

What labels are only on children's clothes?

In the US, a tracking label. In both countries, the warning labels on some children's sleepwear.

The US tracking label. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requires children's products, which it defines as products designed or intended mainly for children 12 and younger, to carry permanent tracking information on the product and its packaging where practicable. It lists the manufacturer, importer or private labeller's name, the location and date of production, and a batch or run number or similar detail. The information may be in code, as long as you know who to contact. It is often on the same sewn-in label as the care instructions, or a small separate one. Keep it on: if a product is recalled, the tracking information is what links your child's piece to the affected batch.

Children's sleepwear. Pyjamas have stricter flammability rules than daywear in both countries. In the US, the CPSC rules cover sizes 0 to 14. Snug-fitting pyjamas that are not flame resistant carry a label at the back neck reading “Wear snug-fitting, not flame resistant” and a yellow hangtag that says “For child's safety, garment should fit snugly. This garment is not flame resistant. Loose-fitting garment is more likely to catch fire.” In Canada, Health Canada's rules cover sizes 0 to 14X, and loose-fitting sleepwear treated with a flame retardant must have a permanent label with the words “flame retardant” and “ignifugeant”. If a US pyjama carries the snug-fit warning, make sure it really does fit snugly.

We don't make sleepwear. Daywear, ours included, isn't sold as sleepwear and isn't made to these rules.

Is “organic” on a clothing label regulated?

Not by the labelling guides we read. The Competition Bureau and FTC labelling guides cover fibre names and percentages and don't set a test for the word “organic”. A certification standard is how you check it. For GOTS, the Global Organic Textile Standard, a label must show four things: the GOTS logo, a label grade, a reference to the certification body, and the licence number of the certified company, according to GOTS.

The grade tells you how much organic fibre is in the garment. “Organic” means at least 95% certified organic fibre. “Made with x% organic materials” means 70 to 94%.

To check a claim:

1. Find the certifier and licence number on the label, hangtag or product page.
2. Search the company in the GOTS Certified Suppliers Database. GOTS says certifiers update the entries, and that some are still moving data to its new database, so a missing entry is a reason to ask the brand, not proof of a false claim.
3. Ask the brand who holds the certificate. Often it is the factory, not the brand. For our clothes, GOTS certification is held by our manufacturers, not by Mom & Zoey.

Our GOTS and OEKO-TEX guide explains what each certification covers and where they differ.

What doesn't a clothing label tell you?

A lot of what parents want to know. A label won't tell you how long the garment will last, how the seams are finished, or which dyes and finishes were used. It won't tell you whether that piece was ever tested for anything, unless a certification label points you to a standard. Sizes also vary between brands, so the number on the label is only a starting point. Our guide to what size to buy for kids covers measuring your child against a brand's own chart.

Hand-me-downs may have no label at all. The Competition Bureau notes that second-hand goods don't need textile labels, and older labels fade or get cut out. If a hand-me-down has no label, wash it gently the first time and check pyjamas for fit, since you can't see whether they were treated or tested.

What we don't know

We read the current regulator pages for this guide, but rules change and each one has exceptions we haven't covered, for example for some accessories and household textiles. Canada's care symbols are still widely used, but with the national standard withdrawn in 2017 we found no current federal list of what each variation must mean. Provinces and states may have their own rules on top of the federal ones; we haven't checked those.

One fibre in the fabric

100% combed organic cotton, ages 2 to 6. Designed in Canada, made to be handed down. The garments are GOTS-certified. GOTS certification is held by our manufacturers, Cotton Buds (certified by IDFL) and R K Exports (certified by GCL), not by Mom & Zoey.

Bellagio Organic Cotton Shirt for Kids

A collared button-down shirt with clean, simple lines.

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Milan Organic Cotton Shirt for Kids

A soft pastel shirt that dresses up or down.

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Vienna Pleated Organic Cotton Blouse for Girls

A sleeveless pleated blouse in crisp white.

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Amalfi Organic Cotton Skort for Girls

A striped skort with shorts built in and an adjustable waist.

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See the full collection →