I've had several requests to repeat the newsletter on Care Labels, so here it is.

Most people I know buy clothes the same way.  They see something interesting and try it on.  Then they look at the tag to see if they can afford it.  There's just one problem -- they're looking at the wrong tag!  Sure, the price of the garment is important, but what really tells you if the garment is affordable in the long run is the Care Label, so I thought I'd help you understand those pesky things better.

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to take care of your wardrobe.  If we can ever answer a fabricare question for you, don't hesitate to ask.

Jim Nixon
The Cleaners

It's Greek to Me!

If you are confused by all the new symbols that are showing up on the labels of your clothes, you're not alone.  We even keep a cheat sheet here at the plant to make sure we're treating your clothes properly.  Every garment imported into or made in the USA is to have a label listing at least ONE method of cleaning it safely. The truth is that the regulations and variety of symbols are evolving even as you read this, so it's understandable if you haven't kept up.

For instance, can you decipher what this one means?

Present this certificate at one of our stores and receive
$5.00
in drycleaning or laundry service.
Coupon expires May 24, 2003. Not valid with other coupons, specials or VIP. 

The A-B-C's of Label Symbols

All those little pictograms only look intimidating when you aren't sure what they mean.  Once you do, they'll be your clothes' best friend -- and yours, too.  Let's break it down into simple categories, going from left to right on the symbols above.

THE CUP SYMBOL -- this means washing.  It looks like a cup with water in it, so that should be easy to remember.

THE TRIANGLE -- for whatever reason, this means bleach.  There's really no easy way to remember it, but it generally follows the washing symbol, since that would be your next consideration after whether it is washable or not.

THE IRON -- obviously, this has to do with pressing.  OK, so a kindergartener could draw a better iron.  But you probably recognized it anyway.

THE SQUARE -- this is actually a tiny dryer.  Normally, there's also a circle inside the square, so that it looks a bit like the door on a dryer.

THE CIRCLE -- the drycleaning symbol.  This is usually last in the row, so that may help you remember it's to let you know if drycleaning is appropriate.  It's up to us to understand what is inside that circle, so that we give your garment the care it requires.  Many times, the circle has a letter inside -- A for "Any Solvent" can be used; P for "Perchloroethylene or Petroleum Solvent, NOT Trichloroethylene"; F for "Petroleum Solvent Only."  (Don't worry, we know what all that means.  For your purposes, all you're looking for is to see whether the garment CAN be drycleaned.  We'll take care of the rest.)

Punctuation Marks

Just like any language, these particular hieroglyphics have punctuation marks that give them added meaning.  There are just a few basic marks, and repeating them just means "more".

For instance, looking below, the "X" symbol is pretty universally recognized as meaning "NO" or "DO NOT".  So, if you see it over the top of any of our basic symbols, that means don't do that particular process -- for instance, "Do not wash" or "Do not iron."

The little dots are temperature indications.  One dot for low, two dots for medium, three dots for high.  Used primarily with the Wash symbol and the Iron symbol, these let you know what settings you need to use on your equipment.  In the case of water, Cold is 75 degrees; Warm is up to 95 degrees; Hot is 115 degrees.  On an iron, cool-warm-hot settings should be indicated.

Finally, there are lines.  Just as we underline text to give it more emphasis, these lines draw attention to the symbol and tell you there is something special about it.  One line indicates the garment is Permanent Press/wrinkle resistant.  Two lines indicate it is Gentle/delicate.  In other words, more lines mean more care should be taken with the garment.

Quiz Time!

Now that you're getting the hang of the symbols, let's try the system out.  First of all, how did you do on the one at the beginning of this newsletter?

It has a cup (wash) with an "X" over it (do not) and then a circle (dryclean) with an "A" in it (any solvent can be used.)  So, the translation is that you should NOT wash the garment, but rather have it drycleaned, and we can use any of the standard drycleaning solvents on it safely.

See?  That wasn't so hard!  So, let's try another one:

OK, so we threw you a curve in there, but most of it should be easy for you to read after getting down the basics of the system.  Here's how it goes:

A cup with a dot (wash in cold water) + A triangle with two lines through it (this is the curve ball!  That means only non-chlorine bleach) + A dryer with two lines under it (dry on delicate/gentle setting) + An iron with two dots (iron using medium iron) + A circle with an "X" through it (do not dryclean.)  So, you can toss it in the washer, set it on cold, but don't put in chlorine bleach.  When you dry it, use the gentle cycle, and touch it up with a medium iron.  It can't be drycleaned.

Links to the Rescue!

The internet is so great about providing information at your fingertips.  Here's a link for a one-page chart showing all the variations of the symbols listed above, plus a few others you might encounter -- like Hand Wash, or Do Not Wring, or Drip-Dry.

• The Chart for Your Closet Door

If you want to read further about care label symbols and the rules regarding them, here are a few additional links to try:

• Understanding Care Labels -- what they must include, and other rules.
• Another chart -- with even more symbols, but the ones you'll see most frequently are on the first link listed above.