Fashion retailers sign up to UKFT care labelling

A number of major retailers including Marks and Spencer, John Lewis and Primark have signed up to the UK Fashion and Textile Association care labelling licence programme.
The Retailer Partner Programme launched in January after the UKFT became the UK

representative for GINETEX, the international body that owns the trademark of the five basic wash care symbols, and aims to allow to unlimited global use of wash care labels without the unpredictable licensing costs.

The symbols for washing, bleaching, dry cleaning, drying and ironing are used on billions of garments each year, and currently retailers and brands using these symbols in Europe and elsewhere are required to pay a licence fee. The level of the fee varies from country to country, but it can be charged per garment, and can amount to hundreds of thousands of Euros per year.

Any retailer that sells its own brand or label outside the UK can become a member of UKFT’s Retail Partner Programme for a cost of 2,500 pounds per annum, and this means that can use the symbols worldwide. The licence can cover numerous brands under one large corporation, which means “potentially huge savings” for many large UK retailers.

Retailers sign up to global care labels licence programme

Other retailers such as Monsoon and Asda have also signed up to the scheme, which also gives retailers access to current labelling graphics and technical specifications, as well as the latest information on changes to the system and guidance on international legislation around garment care and labelling.

Adam Mansell, director of special projects at the UK Fashion and Textile Association said: “We knew UK retailers could reap huge benefits from licensing garment care symbols quickly and easily through UKFT, and we’ve been completely overwhelmed by the response to the Retailer Partner Programme since its launch in January. Care labelling has been an important strategic addition to our offering and we’re thrilled to see in action with some of the UK’s biggest retailers.”