Sources

The source registry

Every item in our checker's catalog and every editorial page cites one or more of the sources below. This list is the complete registry — if a source isn't here, we haven't used it.

• Regulation

  Care Labeling Rule, 16 CFR Part 423

  U.S. Federal Trade Commission

  Defines the care instructions garment labels must carry in the US; the basis for treating the care label as the primary source for any specific garment.

• Standard

  ISO 3758:2023 — Textiles: Care labelling code using symbols

  International Organization for Standardization

  The internationally used care-symbol system (wash temperature, bleach, drying, ironing, professional care) that our care-label options map to.

• Published guidance

  Clothes Captioning: Complying with the Care Labeling Rule

  U.S. Federal Trade Commission

  FTC business guidance explaining what care instructions mean and require (washing, drying, bleaching, ironing warnings). Used for how care-label instructions should be read and followed.

• Published guidance

  Care symbols

  GINETEX — The International Association for Textile Care Labelling

  GINETEX's overview of the ISO 3758 care-labelling symbols (washing, bleaching, drying, ironing, professional care). Used for care-symbol meanings on the laundry-symbols reference and guides.

• Published guidance

  Laundry Basics — Sorting it Out

  American Cleaning Institute

  Consumer guidance on sorting laundry by color, fabric, and lint behavior (whites separate; brights and darks by themselves; light synthetics pick up dark dyes). Used for sorting and color-separation guidance.

• Published guidance

  Laundry Products and Detergents

  American Cleaning Institute

  Consumer guidance on detergent types and using the proper amount of detergent. Used for detergent-dosing guidance.

• Manufacturer documentation

  Laundry Settings: Washer and Dryer Cycles Explained

  Whirlpool

  A representative manufacturer explanation of common washer and dryer cycles (normal, delicates, heavy duty, bulky/sheets) and what fabrics they are designed for. Used for cycle-selection guidance.

• Established practice

  Established fiber and fabric care practice

  Widely documented fabric-care knowledge

  Well-established, uncontroversial properties of common fibers — e.g. cotton shrinks in heat, wool felts with agitation and heat, dark dyes can transfer when new, terry cloth sheds lint, microfiber attracts lint, elastics degrade in high heat. Used only for claims of this uncontroversial kind.

• Manufacturer documentation

  Washer and dryer cycle conventions

  Common appliance-manufacturer documentation

  The temperature ranges and cycle names (delicate/normal/heavy duty, low/medium/high heat) conventionally documented by household washer and dryer manufacturers.

How we use sources

The garment's own care label is always the primary source for that specific garment — everything on this site defers to it. Beyond that, we cite only sources we actually consulted, and we never invent statistics, testing, or expert endorsements. Where authoritative guidance is genuinely mixed or uncertain, we say so and default to the conservative option. See our editorial policy for the standards each citation must meet.