The Home Laundering
Consultative Council (HLCC)
oversees the meaning and
application of the symbols
on care labels on clothing
and textiles and does this
by promoting the use of them
to manufacturers and
retailers and by educating
consumers. Its membership
includes manufacturers of
clothing, textiles, labels,
detergents and domestic
appliances and many high
street retailers.
HLCC is based at 5 Portland
Place. This central London
location is the hub for all
clothing and textiles
activities in the UK. It is
home to the British Clothing
Industry Association, UK
Fashion Export, The National
Childrenswear Associations,
the British Apparel and
Textile Confederation, the
British Interior Textile
Association plus numerous
other industry related
bodies. |
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HLCC has a leaflet for
consumers which not only
gives details on the meaning
of the care labels but also
provides useful advice on
choosing the correct washing
detergent.
HLCC receives hundreds of
queries every year which
range from companies needing
advice on the requirement
for care labelling in a vast
array of countries to
consumers needing specific
advice on stain removal.
HLCC staff have also given
advice to publishers of
several ‘How to Clean’ books
and, under the guise of
‘Stain Man’, have appeared
on several radio programmes.
Technical
HLCC provides the
Secretariat to the BSI
Technical Committee on Care
Labelling, Dry Cleaning,
Domestic Laundering and
Drying and through this is
represented on the ISO Sub
Committee on care labelling.
After discussions that have
lasted 10 years, this ISO
Committee has published a
revised version of ISO 3758,
the standard that deals with
care labelling.
The new Standard includes a
new symbol for wet cleaning
(a new form of professional
cleaning which uses
specially formulated
detergents instead of
solvents), a change from a
broken bar to a double
underline to indicate the
most gentle wash, and a new
set of bleaching symbols to
reflect a change in the
“ingredients” of detergents.
Most importantly, however,
the new Standard brings the
goal of a truly
international labelling
system one step closer.
Members of HLCC are given an
opportunity to comment on
any changes to ISO 3758 and
perhaps more importantly are
kept informed of any changes
to the care labels ahead of
the rest of the industry.
HLCC staff have a wealth of
technical knowledge on all
aspects of labelling and
garment testing and are
always on hand to help with
any query. |
