OK to Remove Care Labels?

For several important reasons, I recommend that you do not remove garment care labels.

Especially for your more expensive garments or household items, such as comforters and drapery, the care label contains very valuable information. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission requires by law that all garments sold in the US have a care label attached. Care labels are required to include at least one safe cleaning method. Consumers and dry cleaners alike use this information to determine how best to clean items. Care labels are also required to include the garment manufacturer’s Registration Number (RN). You can use this number to look up and contact the manufacturer. This is very handy when faced with a garment manufacturing defect.

If you simply must remove a care label from an expensive garment, I recommend taping it to a piece of copy paper, along with the receipt, and jot down a quick description of the garment. Include all information that may be useful in the future such as purchase date, place of purchase, and purchase price. File it away with all your other important papers.