Hello Everyone! I am trying to find out how far back laundry care labels may have been added to textiles- not necessarily only clothing but any commercially items including quilts or sheets etc. Does anyone know when they started to add them to a item? Thank you.
I think they become common in the 1970s - and care labels became obligatory in many countries from around that time. But you do see them earlier than that. In Europe, the first laundry symbols were registered in the late 1950s, but I don't think they were in common use until later. Sometimes care instructions were given in a removable hang tag, rather than attached to the clothing, and this may have been going on earlier, but obviously in most cases these are lost so there isn't much evidence. There are probably occasional earlier exceptions of written (rather than symbol) care labels - especially where they just say 'Dry Clean Only'. I have a vague memory of seeing that on something 1930ish - but my memory may be faulty.
The reason I am looking into it is that I have acquired what is colloquially known as a "caddow" (or a handwoven counterpane or bedspread of a particular style) from the early to mid 19thC. It has repairs and expert darns but one unusual repair is that a very long length of cotton tape with laundry symbols has been sewn, underside up, around the underside of the edges as reinforcement. The labels would have been printed on one length of cotton strip and then cut into pieces to sew into products. So the person who reinforced the edges of this caddow had access to these early cotton laundry labels which were made this particular way. I was interested to know approximately which year that repair took place. It looks old but without knowing how far back the symbols go I had nowhere to start with guessing an age for the repair.
I have seen this type of instruction and also on sportswear. I suspect it is because the type of thick fabric responds best to a touch of "steam" without the potential damage/distortion of full on steaming.
Can you post a photo of the tape? There is some information here on certain symbols, though it mostly relates to the European development/Ginetex: https://forums.vintagefashionguild....garment-care-symbol-chronology-updated.46149/
Hi, this is a close up of the print on the label strip. It has been machine sewn on with the printed side down so that the print is not so visible if the spread happens to be folded down where someone might see it. In this photo it is dampened which makes the print more visible. When it is dry you can hardly see the text.
And this image is the same one that I have "flipped" in a photo editor so that the text is more easily read.
Aha and British too. I would put that in the 70s-80s timeline. Can't be earlier than 1950 as that's when acrylic was first used. Probably not later than 1985 as that's when most care labels had a 5th symbol covering drying. Having Farenheit as the washing temperature is unusual and makes it more likely to be earlier in that span, although the symbols look relatively modern, so that's a puzzler. Still if I'd be very surprised if that was earlier than 1970 or later than 1985, and I think most likely somewhere in the 70s. The inclusion of hand washing instructions alongside machine washing is also somewhat 'old fashioned', as is Made In England (rather than Made in the UK). Of course your repair could be later than that - someone may have had the tape for a long time before they made the repair.
It is a bit of a puzzle. As you say, It can't really be before the 50's but UK govt officially supported the use of the metric system in 1965 (though some industries adopted it and were regularly using it before it became "official") so we can surmise it has to be no later than 65'....but as you have rightly said the person could have had a roll of the tape and done it at any time! Many thanks for your kind help @Retro Ruth
Oh I don't think it's as early as 1965 - metrication was gradual, and varied between industries. And they've included 40c in the symbol. Using both metric and imperial measurements is perfectly allowable even if there is a law stating that the metric system must be used - it still happens today. Wikipedia says: "Much of the retail industry was metricated during 1977 and 1978 by means of statutory orders" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metri...dom#Wholesale,_retail_and_consumer_industries
