Laundry Care Symbols Explained (and How to Make Your Own Care Label for Free)
Turn any shirt inside out and you'll find a small tag full of tiny icons: a tub, a triangle, a square, an iron, a circle. Most people skip right past it. If you sell clothes, though, that little tag matters a lot. It's how your customer knows how to keep the garment looking the way it did the day they bought it.
If you're a tailor, a boutique owner or a small apparel brand in Sri Lanka, making a proper care label can feel like a job for big factories. It doesn't have to be. Our free Care Label Maker lets you build one in a couple of minutes and download it ready to print.
Why your garments need a care label
Fewer returns and complaints. A customer who washes a silk blouse at 60°C won't blame themselves. They'll blame you. A clear label keeps that from happening.
It looks professional. A neat care label with fibre content tells the buyer they're getting a finished product, not a home project.
Export requirements. Many markets expect care and fibre information on clothing. The EU requires fibre composition labels, and the US requires care instructions. If you want to sell abroad, labels are part of the deal.
The 5 care symbol families
Nearly every care label in the world uses the ISO 3758 system, also known as GINETEX. It has five basic shapes:
Wash tub: washing
Triangle: bleaching
Square: drying (with a circle inside for tumble drying)
Iron: ironing
Circle: professional cleaning (dry cleaning or wet cleaning)
Once you know the shapes, three simple rules explain the rest:
Dots mean heat. More dots means a higher temperature.
Bars underneath mean gentle. One bar is a gentler cycle. Two bars is gentler still.
A cross means "do not." A crossed-out tub means do not wash.
Washing symbols
Tub with 30, 40, 50 or 60: machine wash at that maximum temperature in °C
Tub with one bar underneath: gentle cycle, less agitation (good for synthetics)
Tub with two bars underneath: very gentle cycle for delicates like silk or wool
Tub with a hand: hand wash only
Crossed tub: do not wash
Bleaching symbols
Empty triangle: any bleach is fine
Triangle with two diagonal lines: non-chlorine (oxygen) bleach only
Crossed triangle: do not bleach
You might still see an old triangle with "CL" inside, meaning chlorine bleach is allowed. It's no longer used in the current standard.
Drying symbols
Tumble drying is a square with a circle inside:
One dot: low heat
Two dots: normal heat
Crossed out: do not tumble dry
Natural drying is a plain square with lines:
Curved line at the top: line dry, hang it up
Horizontal line in the middle: dry flat, good for knits that stretch
Three vertical lines: drip dry, hang it while it's still wet
Two diagonal lines in the corner: dry in the shade
That last one matters for bright colours drying under strong Sri Lankan sun. Batik and dyed cotton fade fast in direct light.
Ironing symbols
One dot: low heat, max 110°C (nylon, acrylic, silk)
Two dots: medium heat, max 150°C (polyester, wool)
Three dots: high heat, max 200°C (cotton, linen)
Crossed iron: do not iron
Professional cleaning symbols
Circle with P: dry clean with standard solvents
Circle with F: dry clean with hydrocarbon solvents only
Circle with W: professional wet cleaning
Bars under the circle: gentler process
Crossed circle: do not dry clean
How to make a care label with the Salupata Care Label Maker
Open the Care Label Maker.
Pick your washing, bleaching, tumble drying, natural drying, ironing and professional care instructions from the dropdowns. Choose "Not shown" for any you want to leave off.
Add the fibre composition, like 60% Cotton and 40% Polyester. The tool keeps a running total so you know when you've hit 100%.
Add your brand name, size and any extra care text, like "Wash inside out with similar colours".
Tick "Made in Sri Lanka" if you want it on the label.
Click Download PDF or Download PNG.
You'll see a live preview the whole time, so what you download is exactly what you see.
Picking the right symbols for your fabric
Not sure where to start? These are sensible starting points for common fabrics. Always test on a scrap of your own material first.
100% cotton: machine wash 40°C, tumble low, iron high
Linen: machine wash 40°C, line dry, iron high
Silk: hand wash, do not bleach, dry flat in shade, iron low
Polyester: machine wash 30–40°C, tumble low, iron low to medium
Wool: hand wash or gentle 30°C, dry flat, iron medium, dry clean allowed
Hand-dyed batik: hand wash, do not bleach, dry in shade, iron medium
Printing and attaching your label
The PDF is best for sending to a label printer. The PNG works for printing at home or adding to product photos on your Salupata listing.
Common options:
Printed satin or nylon taffeta tape from a local label printer
Iron-on transfer paper for small batches
Printed cotton tape for an eco-friendly feel
Sew the label into the side seam or the back neck, where it stays readable but doesn't scratch.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a care label for clothing?
Choose the washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional care instructions in the Care Label Maker, add the fibre composition and size, then download it as a PDF or PNG.
What do the dots on care labels mean?
Dots show temperature. On an iron, one dot is low (110°C), two is medium (150°C) and three is high (200°C). On a tumble dryer symbol, one dot is low heat and two is normal.
What does the 30°C wash symbol mean?
A wash tub with 30 inside means machine wash at up to 30°C. Bars under the tub mean a gentler cycle.
Are care label symbols the same worldwide?
Most countries use the ISO 3758 / GINETEX symbols. Some markets have their own wording rules, so check your destination country's requirements before production.
Is the Care Label Maker free?
Yes. It's free to use, and you can download as many labels as you need.
Make your first label
A good care label takes a few minutes and saves you a lot of unhappy customers. Try the Care Label Maker, and if you're working out sizes for your range too, use the Size Finder.
Need fabric, thread or labels for your next batch? Browse local sellers on Salupata.
