Europeans – who are major clothes consumers - are increasingly aware of their purchase when they buy their textile items, said Ginetex, the international association for textile care labelling, in its third European barometer for 2021, ‘Europeans and the textile care label’ conducted with IPSOS. The survey was carried out in seven European countries: France, UK, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Spain.

While Europeans widely recognise the usefulness of the textile care label, the understanding of the care symbols remains heterogeneous. About 98 per cent identify the ironing symbol perfectly. The same goes for the washing symbol, well recognised by nine out of ten people (90 per cent). However, only 27 per cent of people surveyed know the symbol for bleaching, 25 per cent for drying and barely 16 per cent for professional cleaning.

To help Europeans become familiar with these care symbols, Ginetex has developed a mobile application ‘My Care Label’. This new mobile application, now launched internationally by Ginetex, helps users to take care of their clothes on a daily basis. On top of explaining the care symbols of all existing textiles, it provides tips and advices to clean and take care of textiles while also caring for the planet, Ginetex said in a press release.

Almost all respondents (93 per cent) had bought at least one piece of clothing in the past six months, the report said. When compared to the 2019 barometer, some features like the quality of the garment are increasingly decisive in the actual purchase. Currently, 49 per cent of Europeans consider that the quality of the clothing they are about to buy is an important criterion – a percentage that increased by 4 points over two years.

While the size (96 per cent) and composition of textiles (74 per cent) remain the Europeans’ most sought-after piece of information, the presence or absence of care instructions also has a significant impact on their purchasing decision. The textile care label is an essential piece of information for a large majority of people surveyed: 74 per cent of Europeans would never, or rarely buy a garment without a care instruction label.

Despite its popularity and the attention that it raises, the relationship of Europeans with the care label is contradictory in terms of interest. While 71 per cent of Europeans on average, said that they follow the care instructions (82 per cent even find them useful), this barometer also shows that this figure varies considerably from one country to another. Yet, 68 per cent of the people surveyed said that they cut off their clothing labels, the study said.

About 34 per cent Europeans said that they follow the instructions to keep their clothes in good shape in order to be able to wear them longer, while 32 per cent follow them to avoid any problems when they wash their clothes, the report stated.

The study was conducted by the IPSOS institute for Ginetex on a sample of 1,000 people aged 18 to 65 in each of the 7 countries.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)