GPSR for Clothing and Textiles: Fibre Composition Labels (Regulation 1007/2011), Children's Drawstrings and REACH Limits

Which EU rules apply to clothing and textiles

No CE directive covers the safety of ordinary clothing, bedding, towels or curtains. The GPSR (Regulation (EU) 2023/988) therefore sets the safety requirement, and other EU acts add specific requirements for the aspects they cover (GPSR Article 2(1), second subparagraph).

A legal note. The GPSR defines “Union harmonisation legislation” by reference to Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (GPSR Article 3(27)), and that Annex lists both REACH and the Textile Labelling Regulation. Read literally, Article 2(1)(b) could then switch off the GPSR manufacturer duties in Articles 9 to 18. The Commission's business guidelines (Notice C/2025/6233, section 2.2), however, say the GPSR applies fully to childcare articles and furniture, which REACH also regulates. The safe course, and the one this site follows, is to meet all GPSR duties for clothing and textiles. This is an interpretation point, not a settled ruling.

GPSR duties for clothing sellers

As the manufacturer, or the brand owner who has clothing made under its name (GPSR Article 3(8)), you must:

• Analyse the risks before placing the product on the market (Article 9(2)). For adult clothing this is often short; for children's wear, costumes, nightwear and items with metal or plastic trims it needs more care. Typical hazards are cords and drawstrings, detachable small parts such as buttons, sequins and rhinestones, high flammability of some brushed or loose-pile fabrics, and chemicals.
• Keep technical documentation with the product description, the risks and solutions, and test reports, for 10 years (Article 9(3)). Details: GPSR technical documentation.
• Mark a type, batch or serial number (Article 9(5)) and your name and postal and electronic address (Article 9(6)) on the product, or where that is not possible on the packaging or an accompanying document. A garment can usually carry a sewn-in label; a sewn label stays with the product after the swing tag is removed, which helps traceability. See batch and serial numbers.
• Name an EU responsible person if you are established outside the EU (Article 16) and show their details on the product, packaging, parcel or an accompanying document.
• Give safety information where the product cannot be used safely without it, in a language consumers easily understand (Article 9(7)), for example a warning to remove a decorative cord before a young child wears the garment, or to keep a costume away from fire.

Fibre composition labels under Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011

Article 4 of the Textile Labelling Regulation says textile products may only be made available on the market if they are labelled, marked or accompanied with commercial documents in line with the Regulation. It also applies to products containing at least 80% textile fibres by weight, and to furniture, umbrella and sunshade coverings with at least 80% textile components (Article 2(2)). The main rules:

• Only Annex I fibre names (Article 5(1)), such as cotton, wool, silk, flax (or linen), viscose, polyester, polyamide or nylon, acrylic and elastane. Those names are reserved for the fibres they describe; “silk” cannot describe the shape of a continuous filament yarn (Article 5(2)).
• “100%”, “pure” or “all” only for products made of a single fibre, with up to 2% technically unavoidable extraneous fibres (5% after carding) (Article 7).
• Every fibre, by percentage of weight, in descending order (Article 9(1)). Fibres of up to 5% individually, or up to 15% together, may be grouped as “other fibres” with their total percentage when they cannot easily be stated at manufacture (Article 9(2)).
• Multi-component products state the fibre content of each component (Article 11(1)). Components that are not main linings and represent less than 30% of the total weight are exempt (Article 11(2)).
• Animal-origin parts such as leather trims or fur require the phrase “Contains non-textile parts of animal origin” (Article 12).
• Durable, easily legible, visible and accessible, and securely attached if it is a label (Article 14(1)).
• Local language: the official language or languages of the Member State where the product is made available to the consumer, unless that Member State provides otherwise (Article 16(3)).
• Tolerance: a manufacturing tolerance of 3% applies between the stated composition and the analysis result (Article 20(3)).

The manufacturer supplies the label and is responsible for its accuracy; if the manufacturer is outside the EU, that duty falls on the importer (Article 15(1)). A distributor who sells under its own name or trademark, attaches the label or changes its content is treated as the manufacturer (Article 15(2)).

Children's clothing: cords, drawstrings and small parts

Cords and drawstrings on children's clothing can catch on playground equipment, doors, bus doors or bicycles, and hood or neck cords can strangle. Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/901 lists EN 14682:2014 “Safety of children's clothing – Cords and drawstrings on children's clothing – Specifications”, so clothing that meets it is presumed safe for those risks (GPSR Article 7(1)(a)). In broad terms the standard restricts cords and drawstrings in the hood and neck area of clothing for young children, and limits the length and design of cords elsewhere, such as at the waist, hem and sleeves. The exact age bands, lengths and garment zones are in the standard itself, so ask your laboratory to check each design.

Small parts are the second big hazard for babies and toddlers. There is no standard on the GPSR list for button or trim attachment, so your risk analysis has to show why buttons, snaps, bows, sequins and appliqués will not come off and be swallowed, for example through pull testing to a recognised method. GPSR Article 6(1)(e) requires particular attention to children as vulnerable consumers. Children's costumes and dressing-up outfits may be toys; see the toys white paper. Other children's products are in childcare articles and GPSR.

REACH chemical limits for textiles and clothing

REACH Annex XVII contains several restrictions that regularly apply to clothing. The figures below were checked against the consolidated REACH text dated 23 June 2025; later amendments may exist, so confirm with your laboratory (to be re-checked).

Chemicals are a common reason for clothing alerts on Safety Gate. Ask fabric and trim suppliers for test reports that match your actual materials and colours, and keep them in your technical documentation.

Care labels, sizes and the online listing

Care labels (washing symbols), size labels and country-of-origin labels are not required by the GPSR or the Textile Labelling Regulation. Some Member States may have their own rules, so check national law for each market. If you use them, they must be accurate, and a care instruction that matters for safety, such as flammability after a certain treatment, belongs in the safety information under GPSR Article 9(7).

Online listings must meet two sets of rules at once:

• GPSR Article 19: manufacturer name and postal and electronic address; the EU responsible person's details if the manufacturer is outside the EU; product picture, type and other identifier; warnings and safety information in the local language. See online selling requirements.
• Textile Labelling Regulation Article 16(1): the fibre composition must be clearly visible to the consumer before purchase, “including in cases where the purchase is made by electronic means”, in legible print of uniform size and font.

A label with the GPSR traceability details can be laid out with the free tool at gpsrtools.com; the fibre label is a separate label with its own rules. General label rules are in GPSR label requirements.