Detailed requirements for Textile labelling requirements — Fibre, down and feather content

Fibre content

Fibre content labelling includes two required elements:

1. Generic name

The generic name for any of the fibres used in the product. This includes natural fibres, synthetic fibers, animal hair or fur removed from the skin of animal, reclaimed and unknown fibres, and down and feathers.

When a fibre represents 5% or more of the total mass of the product’s fibres, the label must show the fibre’s generic name and the amount of fibre present. When less than 5% of a fibre is present, it can be labelled using either its generic name or as “other fibre.”

Complete list of generic names:

Note: With the exception of polybenzimidazole [PBI] and polylactic acid (PLA), no abbreviations may be used in place of the generic name of a fibre.

2. The amount of fibre present

The amount of a fibre refers to the total mass of that particular fibre, expressed as a percentage of the entire item or a particular area (section) of the item. This percentage must appear immediately before or following the generic name of the fibre. Generic names must be stated in order of prevalence by mass, from most to least.

The amount of textile fibre present in a textile fibre product may be meansured using the testing methods contained in the National Standard of Canada Textile Test Methods, or an equivalent test method published by another standards-writing organizations.

Recognized standards-writing organizations:

Generally, a tolerance of 5% is allowed on the fibre content disclosures of blends. No tolerance is allowed for single-fibre fabrics.

The words “all” or “pure” may be used in lieu of “100%” when only one fibre is present in an item (or part of an item). This includes items with ornamentation and elastic or reinforcement yarns that make up less than 5% of the total fibre content, and the fibre content is shown exclusive of such ornamentation, elastic or reinforcement.

The total mass of the item does not include findings and trimmings, or ornamentation, elastic yarns and reinforcement yarns not disclosed as an integral part of the article or constituent part.

Different fibres used in different parts of items

If different fibres are used in different parts of an item, such as when the body of a garment is made of one material while the sleeves are made of another, then both materials must be specified on the label. This is called the “sectional disclosure.”

Labelling examples:

Body/Corps:
65% cotton/coton
35% polyester

Sleeves/Manches:
50% cotton/coton
50% polyester

Company XWZ
50 Victoria Street
Gatineau QC J8X 3X1

Body/Corps:
65% cotton/coton
35% polyester

Sleeves/Manches:
50% cotton/coton
50% polyester

CA00000


Further reading

Bilingual requirements

Except in areas where only one official language is used in consumer transactions, the generic name of the fibre and any information relating to the fibre content must appear on the label in both French and English.

It is also recommended that supplementary descriptive terms, if used, also be bilingual. For example, “100% combed cotton/coton peigné.” This information may be shown on two separate labels (one English and one French). For items requiring a permanent label, these labels must be either connected or touching.

Note: The government of Quebec has additional requirements concerning products marketed within that province. This information is available from the Office québecois de la langue française (available in French only).

Textile labelling examples

Velvet dress (sections, findings, ornamentation, lining)

dress.

  1. findings (buttons, elastic inserted in wrist, interior shoulder pads, inside pocket)
  2. ornamentation (metallic threads)
  3. lining (not for warmth)
  4. sections (body, sleeves)
  5. pile fabric (velvet)

The body and sleeves of this dress are made of different fabrics. The body consists of a velvety material composed of an acetate pile on a rayon backing (pile fabric) with an overall pattern of metallic threads (ornamentation). The metallic threads make up less than 5% of the weight of the pile fabric. The sleeves are made of a polyester chiffon. The lining, which is not used for warmth, is made of rayon. This item requires a permanent label.

Any of the following fibre declarations would be appropriate:

Body/Corps:
Pile/Poil: 100% acetate/acétate
Backing/Support: 100% rayon/rayonne
exclusive of ornamentation/à l’exclusion de l’ornement
Sleeves/Manches:
100% polyester

Body/Corps:
60% rayon/rayonne
40% acetate/acétate
exclusive of ornamentation / à l’exclusion de l’ornement
Sleeves/Manches:
100% polyester
Lining/Doublure: 100% rayon/rayonne

Body/Corps:
58% rayon/rayonne
39% acetate/acétate
3% metallic/fibre métallique
Sleeves/Manches:
100% polyester

Body/Corps:
58% rayon/rayonne
39% acetate/acétate
3% other fibre/autres fibres
Sleeves/Manches:
100% polyester

Stretch pants (elastic yarn)

pants.

  1. all-cotton pants with trademarked elastic yarn (Lycra)

These pants are made of cotton with spandex (elastic yarn) throughout. The spandex makes up less than 5% of the weight of the pant fabric. The brand of spandex is Lycra. This item requires a permanent label.

Any of the following fibre declarations would be appropriate:

96% cotton/coton
4% Spandex

All cotton/tout coton
exclusive of elastic/à l’exclusion de l’élastique

96% cotton/coton
4% other fibre/autre fibre

96% cotton/coton
4% Lycra spandex/spandex Lycra

100% cotton/coton
exclusive of elastic/à l’exclusion de l’élastique

Jacket (findings, reinforcement yarn, lining, trimming, sections)

text jacket.

  1. findings: zipper, elastic wrist bands, interior shoulder pads, inside pocket
  2. 100% cotton with reinforcement yarn
  3. lining for warmth
  4. trimming

This jacket is made from a cotton shell that contains nylon to increase its strength (reinforcement yarn). The nylon yarn makes up less than 5% of the weight of the garment. The jacket has a zipper, elastic wrist bands, concealed pockets, and shoulder pads (findings). The body is lined with wool which has been reprocessed (lining for warmth). Sleeves are lined with nylon (finding). There is a polyester appliqué on the front of the jacket that constitutes less than 15% of the outer surface of the jacket (trimming). This item requires a permanent label.

Any of the following fibre declarations would be appropriate:

Outer Shell/Extérieur:
100% cotton/coton
exclusive of reinforcement and trimming/à l’exclusion du renforcement et de la garniture
Lining/Doublure:
100% reprocessed wool/laine retransformée

Outer Shell/Extérieur:
96% cotton/coton
4% nylon
exclusive of trimming/à l’exclusion de la garniture
Lining/Doublure:
100% reprocessed wool/laine retransformée

Outer Shell/Extérieur:
96% cotton/coton
4% other fibre/autre fibre
exclusive of trimming/à l’exclusion de la garniture
Lining/Doublure:
100% reprocessed wool/laine retransformée

Outer Shell/Extérieur:
100% cotton/coton
exclusive of reinforcement/à l’exclusion du renforcement
Trimming/Garniture:
100% polyester
Lining/Doublure:
100% reprocessed wool/laine retransformée

Sweater (large trimmings, mixed fibres)

sweater.

  1. mixed yarns
  2. trimming

This sweater is composed of unknown amounts of wool, acrylic, and nylon (mixed yarns). A large design has been added to the sweater that is made of nylon and cotton fabric, each in an amount that is less than 15% of the outer surface area; however, together they comprise more than 15% (trimming). This item requires a permanent label.

This fibre declaration would be appropriate:

100% Mixed yarns/fibres mixtes:
wool/laine
acrylic/acrylique
nylon
Trimmings/Garnitures:
100% nylon
100% cotton/coton

Sofa (foam-laminated fabric)

couch.

  1. foam-laminated fabric
  2. non-permanent label

This sofa is upholstered with a nylon fabric laminated to polyurethane foam. The label on the sofa may be non-permanent.

This fibre content declaration would be appropriate:

Outer covering/Tissu extérieur
50% Cotton/coton
50% Nylon
Filing/remplissage:
100% Polyester

Further reading

Carpet (pile and backing)

carpet.

  1. pile and backing

This carpet is made of wool with a backing of jute. It is cut to fit.

The fibre content may be stated on the invoice or other document given to the consumer as long as the consumer has had an opportunity to view an accurately labelled sample or swatch.

Any of the following fibre content declarations would be appropriate:

Pile/Poil:
100% wool/laine

All wool/tout laine
exclusive of backing

100% wool/laine
exclusive of backing/à l’exclusion du support

Pile/Poil:
100% wool
Back/Support:
100% jute

Down and feathers content

Labelling of products containing down or feathers

Down fillings, feather fillings, and blends of down and feathers can differ greatly in cost and quality. Accurate labelling is important to both consumers and dealers. For consumers, it enhances the ability to differentiate among product choices.

This page includes information on how to correctly label the following:

Important terms

To ensure that you label items correctly, it is important to understand the following terms:

Plumage
Outer covering of birds
Waterfowl
Ducks, geese, eider, swans and other large aquatic birds
Down
Undercoating of waterfowl (including goose, duck, and swan) that consists of light fluffy filaments (barbs) growing from a quill point but without a quill shaft
Plumule
Waterfowl plumage with underdeveloped soft and flaccid quill and with barbs indistinguishable from those of down
Down fibre
The detached barbs from down and plumules or from the basal end of a feather quill shaft; these are indistinguishable from the barbs of down
Feather
Feathers form the outer body covering of birds and consist of a quill point, quill shaft, vanes and, usually, an aftershaft. As a rule, waterfowl feathers are superior to land fowl feathers (chickens, turkeys, or other land bird) with respect to both filling power and resilience
Feather fibre
Feather barbs that have been completely separated from the quill shaft and any aftershaft and that are not joined or attached to each other
Crushed feathers
Crushed feathers are feathers that have been processed by a curling, crushing or chopping machine, thereby changing the original form of the feather without removing the quill. Crushed feathers do not come under the definition of residue.
Residue
Refers to quill pith, feather fragments, trash and foreign matter
Land fowl
Chickens, turkeys, or other land bird

Labelling of products containing down

Down is the undercoating of waterfowl (including goose, duck, and swan) that consists of light fluffy filaments (barbs) growing from a quill point but without a quill shaft. A product can be labelled as containing down only if it meets the generic definition for down.

Commercial down incorporates realistic tolerances (permissible limits) for the composition of the down, which is intended to take into account the practical difficulty of obtaining “pure” down that complies with the generic definition included in subsection 26(1) of the Regulations.

Commercial down refers to plumage with the following composition:

Labelling of products containing down
Plumage Tolerances (Amount as Percentage of Total Mass)
Down and plumules At least 75%
Waterfowl feathers not longer than 60 mm Not more than 25%
Waterfowl feather fibre and down fibre Not more than 20%
Residue (including feather and feather fibre from land fowl) Not more than 5%

Note: These tolerances should not be viewed as permission to intentionally adulterate down.

Additional requirements

  • It is prohibited to label any product as “100% down,” “pure down” or “all down,” unless it complies with the generic definition in subsection 26(1) of the Regulations.
  • Items labelled as down must be accompanied by this statement: “Note: This product contains an amount of feathers not exceeding that allowable by law.” The purpose of this statement is to let the consumer know that a product labelled as down may contain some feathers. (This statement should not be used on products containing a blend of down and feathers.)
  • Whenever down is identified by species, at least 90% of the plumage must be from the stated bird. For example, if a label refers to “duck down” and the plumage in the product is less than 90% duck plumage, it would be considered false and misleading. Further, if a label refers to “eiderdown,” 90% of the plumage must be from the eider duck.
  • In cases where the body of the product is filled with down but other sections (such as sleeves, hood, collar, or pockets) are filled with another material that could be mistaken for down, these sections should not be represented as “down-filled.” This would be considered false and misleading unless it is made clear that only the body of the garment is filled with down (for example, “down-filled body”).
  • Expressions such as “down-like” may be used if the product has some of the properties of a down product and it is clearly stated that the fill is not down (for example, “down-like polyester fibrefill”).
  • When down or any other fibre shown on the label is a reclaimed fibre, the word “reclaimed,” “reprocessed,” or “reused” must be shown immediately before the generic name of the fibre.

Example: Down-filled vest

The following is appropriate for a label for a down-filled nylon vest:

Vest Illustration.

  • Outer Shell: 100% nylon
    Fill: down
    Note: This product contains an amount of feathers not exceeding that allowable by law

  • Extérieur : 100 % nylon
    Remplissage : duvet
    À noter : La quantité de plumes dans ce produit satisfait aux exigences de la loi

CA00000

How to ensure accuracy when labelling a product as “down”

To be accurate and not misleading, the product must meet the following composition requirements:

How to ensure accuracy when labelling a product as “down”
Plumage Tolerances (Amount as percentage of total mass)
Down and plumules At least 75%
Waterfowl feathers not longer than 60 mm Not more than 25%
Waterfowl feather fibre and down fibre Not more than 20%
Residue (including feather and feather fibre from land fowl) Not more than 5%

Products with feather fillings

feather.

Feathers form the outer body covering of birds and consist of a quill point, quill shaft, vanes and, usually, an aftershaft.

Dealers may label a feather-filled product as a feather product if it meets the generic definition of one of the following commercial feathers, which includes realistic tolerances to take into account the practical difficulty of obtaining “pure” feathers that comply with the generic definition included in subsection 26(1) of the Regulations.

Waterfowl feather (commercial)

This term refers to the plumage of ducks, geese, swans or other waterfowl. This plumage must have the following composition:

Waterfowl feather (commercial)
Plumage Tolerances (Amount as Percentage of Total Mass)
Waterfowl feathers, waterfowl feather fibre, down and down fibre At least 95%
Residue Not more than 5%

Land fowl feather (commercial)

This term refers to plumage from chickens, turkeys, or other land birds. This plumage must have the following composition:

Land fowl feather (commercial)
Plumage Tolerances (Amount as Percentage of Total Mass)
Feathers, feather fibre, down and down fibre At least 95%
Residue Not more than 5%

Additional requirements

  • The declaration “feather” must be preceded by the words “waterfowl,” “land fowl,” or the name of the bird of origin.
  • Whenever feathers are identified by species, at least 90% of the plumage must be from the stated bird.
  • The declaration may not be preceded by a description of 100% on a product filled with feathers, unless it complies with the generic definition in subsection 26(1) of the Regulations.
  • When the feather is a reclaimed fibre, the word “reclaimed,” “reprocessed,” or “reused” must immediately precede the generic name of the fibre on the label.

Example: Feather pillow

The following is appropriate for a label for a feather pillow:

Feather Pillow.

  • Outer Shell: 100% cotton
    Fill:
    duck feathers

  • Extérieur : 100 % coton
    Remplissage :
    plumes de canard

CA00000

How to ensure accuracy when labelling a feather-filled product

To be accurate and not misleading, the product should meet the following composition:

  • at least 95% waterfowl feathers, waterfowl feather fibre, or down and down fibre
  • at least 90% of the plumage is from duck feathers
  • maximum 5% residue.

Products using down blends

A down blend may refer to:

  • a blend of different species of down (such as duck or goose),
  • a blend of down and feathers, or
  • a blend of down and polyester or other fibre.

Requirements

Generally, a tolerance of 5% is allowed on the fibre content disclosures of blends. However, no tolerance is allowed for blends of commercial down, commercial waterfowl feather or commercial land fowl feather.

  • Where the blend consists of down from different species or a blend of down and feathers, the composition must fall within the tolerances for down or feathers only. In other words, no additional 5% tolerance for fibre content blends is allowed [this is in order to avoid a double tolerance (one general tolerance for blends and one tolerance for the composition of the down and/or feather)].
  • Where the blend consist of commercial down and other fibre, the 5% tolerance for blends of fibre content is allowed.
  • The declaration of “feather” must be preceded by the word “waterfowl,” “land fowl,” or the name of the bird of origin.
  • Whenever down or feathers are identified by species, at least 90% of the plumage must be from the stated bird.
  • When the blend consists of down and feathers or a non-plumage textile fibre, the proportion of each must be shown as a percentage from biggest to smallest.
  • Where crushed feathers are part of the blend, this should be indicated on the label. For example, “Fill: Crushed [waterfowl, land fowl, or the name of the bird of origin] feathers.”
  • When down or any other fibre shown on the label is a reclaimed fibre, the word “reclaimed,” “reprocessed,” or “reused” must be shown immediately preceding the generic name of the fibre.

Example: Down- and feather-filled vest

The following is appropriate for a label for a nylon vest filled with 60% down and 40% waterfowl feathers:

Vest Illustration.

  • Outer Shell: 100% nylon
    Fill:
    60% down
    40% waterfowl feathers

  • Extérieur : 100 % nylon
    Remplissage :
    60 % duvet
    40 % plume d’oiseaux aquatiques

CA00000

How to ensure accuracy when labelling a product filled with down and feathers

Example: To be accurate and not misleading, a product labelled as 60% down and 40% feathers must meet the following composition requirements:

Composition requirements - Calculation of MINIMUM Amount Permitted with this Label
Plumage Listed on Label Legal Tolerances (As Percentage of Total Mass) Calculation of MINIMUM Amount Permitted with this Label
60% down Minimum 75% down Minimum down content allowed:
60% × 75% = 45%
40% feathers Minimum 95% feathers Minimum feather content allowed:
40% × 95% = 38%
Residue Maximum 5%

For a product labelled as containing 40% feathers, the“feathers” portion may consist of any of the following or any combination, providing the total amount of feathers is at least 38%:

Composition requirements - MAXIMUM Composition Permitted with this Label
Plumage Legal Tolerances (As Percentage of Total Mass) MAXIMUM Composition Permitted with this Label
Waterfowl feathers more than 60 mm in length, when present Maximum 40% (maximum declared feathers)
Waterfowl feathers not longer than 60 mm, when present Maximum 25% (of the down component of the declared feathers) Maximum: 55%
(25% × 60% down = 15% + 40% feathers)
Waterfowl feather fibre and down fibre Maximum 20% (of the down component of the declared feathers) Maximum: 52%
(20% × 60% down = 12% + 40% feathers)

Example: Nylon sleeping bag filled with down and non-plumage fibre

The following is appropriate for a label for a 50% down-filled and 50% polyester-filled nylon sleeping bag:

Sleeping bag.

  • Outer Shell: 100% nylon
    Fill:
    50% down
    50% polyester

  • Extérieur : 100 % nylon
    Remplissage :
    50 %duvet
    50 % polyester

CA00000

How to ensure accuracy when labelling a product with both down and non-plumage fibre

Example: To be accurate and not misleading, a product labelled as containing 50% down and 50% polyester must meet the following composition requirements:

Composition requirements - products labelled as containing 50% down and 50% polyester
Fill Legal Tolerances (As Percentage of Total Mass) Calculation of Amount
Permitted (Range) with this Label
50% down At least 75% down (may include ± 5% residue) 32.5% to 42.5%
(50% × 75% = 37.5% ± 5% tolerance)
50% polyester No more than 5% for blends 45% to 55%
(50% ± 5% tolerance)

In this example, the down portion (labelled as 50%) may consist of any of the following or any combination, provided that 32.5% to 42.5% of the total plumage consists of down and plumule:

Composition requirements
Plumage Legal Tolerances
(As Percentage of Total Mass)
Calculation of Amount
Permitted with this Label
Down and plumule Minimum 75% 32.5% to 42.5%
(50% × 75% = 37.5% ± 5% tolerance)
Waterfowl feathers not longer than 60 mm, when present Maximum 25% Maximum 17.5%
(25% × 50% = 12.5% ± 5% tolerance)
Waterfowl feather fibre and down fibre Maximum 20% Maximum 15%
(20% x 50% = 10% ± 5% tolerance)
Residue Maximum 5% Maximum 2.5%
(5% × 50% = 2.5%)