Textile, Wool & Fur Labeling Rules

When you buy clothing, bedding, fabric, or a fur-trimmed item in the United States, a surprising amount of old-school federal law sits behind that tag. Title 15 contains three related labeling regimes: the Wool Products Labeling Act, the Fur Products Labeling Act, and the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act. Together, they are designed to stop sellers from misleading buyers about what a product is made of, who is responsible for it, and, in many cases, where it came from.

The practical effect is familiar even if the statutes are not. Labels on covered products commonly disclose fiber or fur content, the manufacturer or marketer identity or RN number, and country-of-origin information. The Federal Trade Commission enforces the statutes and the implementing rules in 16 CFR Parts 300, 301, and 303.

Current Law (2026)

Key Numbers

• RN lookup: every label displaying an RN number (Registered Number) instead of a full business name can be looked up at ftc.gov/rn — a free public FTC database; the RN system exists because labels have limited space, and Congress allowed companies to use a government-assigned number that consumers can verify; a label with no business name AND no RN is a compliance violation
• "100% wool" threshold: a product can only claim "100% wool" or "all wool" if it is entirely new wool with no recycled fiber; products with any recycled wool content must say "reprocessed" or "reused" wool — a distinction that affects both product value and consumer understanding of what they're buying
• Fur de minimis eliminated by the Truth in Fur Labeling Act of 2010: before 2010, garments with small amounts of real fur (under a value threshold) were exempt from fur labeling — a loophole retailers exploited to avoid disclosing that trim was made from real animal fur; the 2010 Act closed this by requiring all real fur on a garment to be disclosed by animal name (e.g., "rabbit fur," "raccoon dog"), regardless of amount or price
• Animal identification, not just "fur": the Fur Products Labeling Act requires the English name of the animal, not just "fur trim" or "genuine fur"; "raccoon dog" (from China, marketed deceptively as different species) and "rabbit" must appear on the label; using "wolf" for a product made from domestic dog is a violation that the FTC has prosecuted
• Country of origin on textiles: garments must identify where they were manufactured; for apparel made in multiple countries, the label must specify the country of assembly and significant portions of fabric; "Made in USA" textile claims face the FTC's general Made in USA standard — virtually all content and processing must occur in the U.S. (see Made in USA Labeling)
• E-commerce extension: FTC guidance from 2019-2020 confirmed that fiber content, care instructions, and required identity/origin disclosures must appear in online product listings, not just on physical labels; an Amazon product page that lists "comfortable fabric" without fiber percentage is non-compliant

Legal Authority

• 15 U.S.C. §§ 68a-68c — Core wool-labeling provisions on unlawful misbranding, misbranded wool products, and required identification
• 15 U.S.C. §§ 69a-69c — Core fur-labeling provisions on FTC Act enforcement, misbranded fur products, and false advertising/invoicing
• 15 U.S.C. §§ 70-70b — Core textile-fiber provisions on definitions, FTC Act enforcement, and misbranded or falsely advertised textile fiber products

How It Works

The Textile Fiber, Wool, and Fur Products Acts are fundamentally anti-deception statutes: Congress created them to stop sellers from passing off one material as another, obscuring mixed content, or hiding facts that matter to buyers' purchasing decisions — not to standardize label aesthetics or create registration systems for their own sake. The statutes supply the core legal obligation; the FTC's implementing rules (in 16 CFR Parts 300-303) provide the operational details — how fiber content percentages must be disclosed, when country of origin is required, how RN (registered number) can substitute for a company name, and how used or reprocessed content must be flagged. Fur labeling goes further than textile or wool disclosure because the law cares about the animal species, the product's condition (used, dyed, bleached, artificially colored), and other attributes that materially affect value — the fur rules are designed to let buyers distinguish real mink from rabbit, and new fur from used or dyed fur, rather than relying on vague marketing claims. For businesses sourcing internationally, these obligations compound: the label, import documentation, product data, and marketing materials all need to tell the same truthful story, because discrepancies between what the invoice says and what the label says can create customs, FTC, and consumer-protection exposure simultaneously.

How It Affects You

If you buy clothing or bedding: These rules are why the label on your shirt tells you it's "100% cotton" or "60% polyester / 40% cotton" — that disclosure is a legal requirement, not a marketing choice. The label also identifies the manufacturer or marketer using either its business name or a Registered Number (RN). If a label only shows an RN, you can look up the company behind it at ftc.gov/rn — a free public database. This matters when you're trying to identify who to contact about a return, quality issue, or misleading product claim.

If you buy "faux fur" products: This is where the FTC has brought real enforcement cases. The FTC sued several retailers (including Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus subsidiaries) for selling garments labeled as faux fur that actually contained real animal fur — including dog and rabbit fur. The problem: real fur on an accessory can be priced and marketed as synthetic trim, which deceives both animal-welfare-conscious buyers and price-sensitive ones. Under the Truth in Fur Labeling Act, there is no de minimis fur exemption — even small amounts of real fur on a garment must be disclosed. If you're concerned, look for the specific animal name (not just "fur") on the label. If the label says only "trim" or the tag is missing fur information entirely, that's a red flag worth flagging to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

If you import or sell apparel and textiles: The label on the product has to match what's in the import documentation, what's on the website, and what's on the invoice. That supply-chain consistency is harder than it sounds when sourcing from foreign manufacturers. FTC enforcement looks at the whole picture: a hang tag that says "genuine wool" when the fabric is mostly synthetic is a problem whether it's in the ad copy, on the product page, or sewn into the garment. See Customs Import Procedures for the broader import-compliance layer, including customs labeling requirements that sit alongside the FTC rules.

If you run an e-commerce apparel business: FTC guidance issued in 2019-2020 clarified that online sellers must disclose the required textile and fiber information in product listings, not just on physical labels. A product listing that says "cozy and warm" without a fiber-content breakdown may comply with your branding instincts but not with the textile-labeling rules. The FTC's compliance guide for textile sellers (available at ftc.gov) walks through the specific disclosure requirements for online product pages.

State Variations

State variation is modest because this is largely a federal labeling field:

• The FTC statutes and rules create the core national labeling framework
• States can still use general consumer-protection laws against deceptive marketing
• In practice, the biggest variation businesses feel is not state-by-state labeling law but differences in enforcement attention, sourcing chains, and import compliance

Implementing Regulations

The FTC regulations implementing the three labeling statutes live at 16 CFR Parts 300, 301, and 303. All three follow the same basic structure: a general labeling requirement, specific content rules, identity and origin disclosure requirements, and recordkeeping obligations.

16 CFR Part 300 — Wool Products Labeling Rules

• § 300.2 — General requirement: every wool product subject to the Act must bear a stamp, tag, or label with the required information — no exempt categories beyond those specified in the statute itself
• § 300.3 — Required label content: the label must show (1) generic fiber names and percentages by weight in descending order, (2) the maximum percentage of nonfibrous loading or filling matter, (3) the manufacturer's name or FTC-issued Registered Number (RN), and (4) the country where the product was processed or manufactured
• § 300.17 — Use of "all" or "100%": these terms may only appear when the product is composed wholly of a single new fiber — any product with even a trace of recycled fiber or a second fiber cannot use "all wool" or "100% wool"
• § 300.18 — Specialty fiber names: the names of specialty fibers within the wool family — cashmere, alpaca, camel hair, llama, vicuña, and others — may be used in lieu of the word "wool," but only when that specific fiber is present and the percentage is disclosed; the word "recycled" must accompany any recycled specialty fiber designation
• § 300.19 — Cashmere definition: a product may use the term "cashmere" only if the fiber (a) comes from the dehaired undercoat of a cashmere goat, (b) averages no more than 19 microns in diameter, and (c) contains no more than 3 percent of fibers exceeding 30 microns — lab fiber testing is a practical compliance requirement for cashmere product sellers
• § 300.20 — "Virgin" or "new": these terms may not describe a product (or any fiber in it) that was previously used, spun, woven, knitted, or otherwise manufactured — they are reserved for wholly first-use fiber
• § 300.20a — Very fine wool grades: specifies the micron thresholds for wool grades marketed as "Super 80's" through "Super 160's"; for example, "Super 100's" requires an average fiber diameter of 18.75 microns or finer — sellers using these trade-grade designations must be able to verify them by fiber testing
• § 300.25 — Country of origin: imported wool products must identify the country where processed or manufactured; products made entirely in the United States of U.S. materials must say "Made in U.S.A."; products made in the U.S. of imported materials must disclose both facts (e.g., "Made in USA of imported fabric")
• § 300.31 — Recordkeeping: manufacturers must maintain records showing fiber content, nonfibrous loading percentages, identity information, and country of origin for all wool products they produce — records must be available for FTC inspection

Part 300 was most recently amended at 79 FR 32163 (June 2014) to update specialty fiber definitions and label format requirements.

16 CFR Part 301 — Fur Products Labeling Rules

• § 301.0 — Fur Products Name Guide: the Part opens with an official taxonomic table listing approximately 200 animal names (by common name, order, family, and genus-species) that constitute the required animal identification vocabulary — sellers must use these names on labels, not trade names or coined names
• § 301.2 — General requirements: fur products must be labeled and invoiced with required information; furs sold separately from garments must be invoiced; advertising is also subject to the disclosure requirements — covering the full sale chain from raw fur to retail
• § 301.11 — No fictitious names: trade names, coined names, or words suggesting a non-existent animal species may not appear on labels or advertising — this provision is the basis for FTC enforcement against "rabbit" fur being labeled as "lapin," "coney," or other terms that obscure the identity of the animal
• § 301.12 — Country of origin: the country where the animal was raised or taken (not where the garment was assembled) is the required country of origin for furs — a mink coat assembled in Italy from Canadian pelts must disclose Canada as the fur's origin
• § 301.19 — Dyeing, bleaching, and pointing disclosure: fur that has been artificially colored or where hairs have been inserted to simulate other furs (pointing) must disclose these treatments on the label; "Dyed Mink" is required over simply "Mink" if the fur was color-treated
• § 301.20 — Products composed of off-cuts: fur products made in whole or substantial part (10%+) from paws, tails, bellies, gills, ears, throats, heads, or scrap pieces must say so; "paws," "tails," or "pieces" must appear as required disclosure — these off-cut products are sometimes marketed as if they are the same quality as full-pelt items
• § 301.21 — Used fur disclosure: fur worn by an ultimate consumer becomes "used fur" and must be disclosed as such in subsequent sales; fur products containing used fur must say "Contains Used Fur" on the label
• § 301.22 — Damaged fur disclosure: fur that has a known defect that would shorten the product's normal life must be disclosed as "Contains Damaged Fur"
• § 301.23 — Second-hand fur products: garments previously worn and resold must be labeled "Second-hand," "Reconditioned-Second-hand," or "Rebuilt-Second-hand" as applicable — these designations must appear in the required label information, not just in marketing
• § 301.26 — Registered identification numbers: fur labels may use an FTC-issued RN number in lieu of the full business name, parallel to the wool and textile rules; RNs are issued via the FTC's online system at rn.ftc.gov and are not transferable

Part 301 was most recently amended at 79 FR 30458 (May 2014) to update the Fur Products Name Guide and labeling provisions following the Truth in Fur Labeling Act of 2010.

16 CFR Part 303 — Textile Fiber Products Identification Rules

• § 303.7 — Required label content: textile fiber products must disclose the generic names and percentages by weight of all constituent fibers in descending order (any fiber under 5% may be grouped as "other fibers"), the name or RN of the marketer, and the country where the product was processed or manufactured
• § 303.10 — Fiber content for special product types: elastic products must disclose the percentage of the elastomer and all coverings separately; drapery and upholstery fabrics manufactured on hand-operated looms or in small runs have specific disclosure rules; products with sectionally different fiber content must disclose each section's content separately
• § 303.11 — Floor coverings with backings: when floor coverings have backings, fillings, or paddings, the required fiber content disclosure must make clear it applies only to the face or pile — "100% Cotton Pile" with a jute backing must not imply the backing is also cotton
• § 303.12 — Trimmings exemption: structural trimmings (rickrack, binding, braid, waistbands, structural elastic) are exempt from fiber content disclosure; decorative trim, decorative patterns, and elastic that exceed the surface area thresholds described in the rule are not exempt and must be disclosed
• § 303.13 — Remnants: fabric remnants of unknown fiber content may be disclosed as "remnants of undetermined fiber content" rather than requiring costly lab testing on each piece; products made from such remnants may carry the same disclosure
• § 303.15 — Label placement and attachment: labels must be securely affixed so they remain attached until the product reaches the ultimate consumer; they must be easily visible and legible; labels may not be hidden in an interior pocket or under another layer

Part 303 was most recently amended at 79 FR 18771 (April 2014) to update fiber content rules and label format requirements.

All three Parts share the same compliance infrastructure: seller and manufacturer must maintain records of required information, and the FTC can inspect those records in an investigation. The FTC enforces violations as unfair or deceptive acts under Section 5 of the FTC Act, with civil penalties that have increased with inflation adjustments to over $50,000 per violation.

Pending Legislation (119th Congress)

No major standalone 119th Congress legislation was prominent as of April 2026 to replace these FTC-administered wool, fur, and textile labeling statutes.

Recent Developments

The FTC's real fur mislabeling enforcement — particularly the cases involving Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, and Overstock from the 2010s — continues to shape industry practice. Those cases established that the "de minimis" loophole eliminated by the Truth in Fur Labeling Act of 2010 was widely exploited: multiple major retailers were selling garments trimmed with real animal fur (including raccoon dog, rabbit, and in some cases domestic dog) that was labeled as "faux fur" or carried no fur disclosure at all. The settlements required disclosures and compliance programs, and the FTC has continued to issue warning letters to online retailers. The persistent problem is the supply chain distance between the garment manufacturer in Asia (often where mislabeling occurs) and the U.S. retailer who sells the product — retailers increasingly use third-party testing and supply chain audits to avoid liability for their vendors' labeling violations.

The shift to online retail has created the most significant practical regulatory tension in textile labeling enforcement. FTC guidance now requires that all required disclosures — fiber content, care instructions, the identity of the manufacturer or marketer (or RN number), and country of origin — appear in product listings on e-commerce platforms, not just sewn into the garment. Marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy that host third-party sellers have complex obligations when their seller listings are non-compliant. The FTC has taken the position that the platform as well as the seller can be held responsible for misleading product claims, which has pushed major platforms toward requiring structured fiber-content fields in their product data entry systems. For small apparel brands using these platforms, building compliant product listings is now part of the launch checklist alongside label compliance for physical goods.

The import compliance dimension has intensified as CBP enforcement of customs labeling (country of origin marking, required textile disclosures at the point of entry) has increased. Textile and apparel imports must comply with both FTC labeling rules and CBP's parallel import marking requirements, and a garment that clears customs with correct origin marking can still be non-compliant with FTC fiber content rules — or vice versa. Brands sourcing from China through third-country final assembly (a practice that spiked with 2018-2019 and 2025 tariff increases) face particular scrutiny on whether country-of-origin claims accurately reflect where substantial transformation occurred. The combination of FTC fiber content rules, Customs origin marking requirements, and the FTC's Made in USA standard creates a multi-agency compliance environment that most apparel brands navigate with supply chain counsel or specialized compliance consultants.