What’s on a label? 

“The label is the last thing a lot of designers think about,” said Matt Clark, co-owner of W&W Associates Inc., during his educational session at Advanced Textiles Expo 2025 in Indianapolis, Ind. But labels are a necessity, and the government takes them seriously. 

Clark pointed out that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently fined a company $140,000 for a label with incorrect content and country of origin, so it’s important to know the label requirements in the U.S. Clark, identifies them as the “four Cs”: company, content, care, country. 

In addition to a label’s necessary information, the session discussed the different factors businesses might consider when creating and placing their label. Is branding important? If so, a front-and-center label may be best. What instructions are necessary for the end user to have? That will impact the label’s size.  

Clark outlined four different material options for labels, and the pros and cons of each fabric based on the end goal for the label. He also shared insights into what a partner like W&W Associates needs to create a high-quality label: using vector art files instead of jpegs, and deciding how the label will be applied to the product are among the important details. 

The session ended with a lively pop quiz, in which Clark asked questions about different points in his presentation and awarded embroidered Advanced Textiles Association (ATA) baseball hats to attendees who answered correctly.