EU Fibre Content Labelling for Knitwear: Getting 1007/2011 Right

By YZR Sweaters · 2026-11

A fibre content label looks like the simplest thing in a garment: a few words and numbers. It is also a legal declaration, and it is one of the first things a marketplace, a customs authority or a trading standards officer checks. Our US labelling guide covers the American rules; this one covers the EU, where the permitted names, the language requirement and the treatment of blends are different.

What the regulation actually requires

• Composition by weight, in descending order. Every fibre present is named with its percentage of the total fibre weight. "80% wool, 20% polyamide" is the shape of it. You cannot list only the fibres you want to advertise.
• Only permitted fibre names. The regulation maintains a list of official textile fibre names. Brand names, marketing terms and invented fibre descriptions do not replace them — "cashmere" is used as the recognised name for that fibre, but "our proprietary soft wool" is not a composition declaration.
• "100%", "pure" or "all" only for single-fibre products. A sweater with 3% elastane in the cuffs cannot be sold as "100% wool" if the elastane is part of the product's fibre content. Decorative fibres and clearly separable, non-textile parts are treated differently, but the safe route is to declare what is actually there.
• In the language of the market. The declaration must be in the official language(s) of the member state where the product is offered, unless a permitted symbol or code applies. A single multilingual label is the usual solution for a pan-European range — see labels and hangtags for how brands lay that out.
• Durable, legible, attached. A hangtag alone is not enough. The composition must be on a label that stays with the garment, printed or woven legibly, and it must survive care — our label durability guide covers the failure mode where the declaration becomes unreadable after washing.

Where knitwear specifically goes wrong

Knitted garments are built from multiple yarns and structures, which creates traps that a woven shirt never has:

• A different yarn in the ribs. Body in 100% cotton, cuffs and hem knitted with an elastane-plated yarn. That elastane is part of the product and must be accounted for in the declared composition. We see this one a lot.
• Small luxury percentages. "95% wool, 5% cashmere" must declare both. And a marketing claim of "cashmere blend" cannot quietly upgrade the legal declaration — see how cashmere blends actually work and composition tolerances.
• Fancy and effect yarns. Metallic threads, sequin yarns, slubs and binder yarns may be decorative or may count as fibre, depending on how they are incorporated. Ask your test house, don't guess.
• Coord sets sold as one unit. Top and bottom with different compositions need their own declarations, or a single combined declaration only where the rules permit. See knit loungewear sourcing for set planning.
• Elastane and trims. Elastic threads, sewing threads, labels and non-textile parts are generally excluded from the declared fibre content of the textile product, but the boundary matters — get it in writing on the test report.

Tolerances, testing and who is liable

The regulation allows a limited manufacturing tolerance between the declared composition and what laboratory analysis finds, with tighter treatment for products declared pure or 100%. The exact figures depend on the fibre and construction, so we don't quote them from memory — have your test house confirm against the current consolidated text before you approve artwork. What matters operationally: get a composition analysis from an accredited lab on the actual bulk yarn, keep the report, and lock the label artwork to that result. Our lab testing guide covers what to commission.

Liability sits with the economic operator who places the product on the EU market — usually the importer or the brand, not the factory in Dongguan. That is why a "don't worry, we've labelled thousands of these" is not a control. Put label approval in the tech pack, approve a physical pre-production label, and record who signed off in your supply contract.

A workable approval sequence

• Confirm the exact yarn composition with the mill, including rib and trim yarns.
• Commission fibre analysis on the knitted fabric, not just the cone.
• Draft the declaration with permitted names and all target-market languages.
• Check it against chemical compliance obligations under RSL testing and the broader EU GPSR requirements for the responsible operator's details.
• Approve the physical label on the pre-production sample, then verify again at pre-shipment inspection.

At YZR Sweaters we supply the yarn composition data, arrange fibre-composition testing through accredited labs when a buyer needs it, and print exactly the artwork you approve — no quiet substitutions. Our Dongguan partner factories are BSCI, SEDEX and Oeko-Tex certified, and we treat the label as part of the product spec, not an afterthought at packing.

Frequently asked questions