Name that fiber, says EU

In September 2011, the European Parliament and Council established “harmonized provisions on the labeling and marking of textile products” to eliminate conflicts among internal markets and guarantee consumers have adequate information about what they buy. The regulation (EU No. 1007/2011) pertains to textile products containing at least 80 percent by weight of textile fibers. Textile fiber names must be listed in Annex I of the regulation and used only to describe the fibers actually in the product. New fiber names (and types) can be requested, with sufficient documentation. Wool, a particularly gnarly substance, cannot be “100 percent,” “pure,” or “all” unless the product is composed of a single textile fiber. Textile products including several fibers must be labeled with the fiber names and percentages by weight in descending order, and if the product contains nontextile parts of animal origin, the label must reflect that fact. All EU member countries must abide by the regulations or face penalties.