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Gratz_The_King · August 15th, 2009

hey. im using american apparel blanks for my line. they have 2 tags in their neck, 1 that says the brand name and wheres its made, and the other that says the size, what material its made of, and has the care info...

atleast thats what i thought! until someone on this board told me that american apparel actually uses just ONE tag. everyone thinks its 2, but its actually 1 long one.

for my brand i plan on having custom neck tags..what i originally was going to do before finding out they only use ONE tag, was just remove the front one, add mine, and keep the care tag...

but now this complicates things. what should i do now? should i continue on with my original plan, and just leave the american apparel care tag in place? (it might be a problem since i would have to cut the original tag in "half")

or should i remove the entire tag/s from the blank, and add my own custom tag neck, but with all the info necessary - brand name and size on front, care info/material on back???

sorry if this sounded confusing!

gaseousclay · August 16th, 2009

if you can afford to have custom neck tags then go for it. but I think you'd need your own RN# along with the garment care info for that.

Gratz_The_King · August 16th, 2009

RN#? whats that! uh oh

Gratz_The_King · August 17th, 2009

can you explain what you meant?

kimura-mma · August 17th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gratz_The_King


	can you explain what you meant?

An RN# is something that manufacturers apply for. It is used on neck labels to identify where a garment was made. It used to be a requirement (along with content, origin and care instructions) but I believe a company name/logo is fine. So applying for an RN# is an option, not a requirement.

splathead · August 17th, 2009

Any one can apply for an RN #, not just manufacturers. It does not identify where a garment was made. It identifies the distributor's/manufacturer's company name and address.

However, you don't have to apply for one yourself. You can use the one that is already on the AA shirts.

The bigger issue with the AA label is it has the country of origin on the back of the top label. This is also a requirement. So if you cut off the top label, you will need to make sure your label has the "Made in the U.S." wording.

For a complete run down on what is required on a label, see the FTC Relabeling Info link in the left hand column of this page under Resources.

kimura-mma · August 17th, 2009

Joe is correct, it identifies who not where.

But according to the FTC, Company Name can be used instead of the RN#, making the RN# an option, not a requirement, from a business and label standpoint.

Gratz_The_King · August 17th, 2009

wow! so removing those tags from the american apparel shirt is going to be a hassle, since ill have to make sure my custom tags have all the necessary info.

would i be able to just tell my label maker to print "made in usa" on the labels? is it that simple?

splathead · August 17th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gratz_The_King


	wow! so removing those tags from the american apparel shirt is going to be a hassle, since ill have to make sure my custom tags have all the necessary info. would i be able to just tell my label maker to print "made in usa" on the labels? is it that simple?

Yep, just that simple.

Gratz_The_King · August 17th, 2009

oh! so then its not really as big of a problem as i thought

can you tell me if its necessary to have it on the front of the label? or does it not matter?

is using only ONE label usually a common thing? do alot of you use only one with all the necessary info on it? or do you have more than one?

splathead · August 17th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gratz_The_King


	can you tell me if its necessary to have it on the front of the label? or does it not matter?

Well, seeing as AA has it on the back of theirs, my guess is it does not matter.

Quote:


	is using only ONE label usually a common thing? do alot of you use only one with all the necessary info on it? or do you have more than one?

Using one is as common as using two. I would do whatever is easier for you. If it's easier to remove the whole AA label (instead of cutting it) and put just one of your in, then that's what I would do.

curiousity · August 17th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimura-mma


	An RN# is something that manufacturers apply for. It is used on neck labels to identify where a garment was made. It used to be a requirement (along with content, origin and care instructions) but I believe a company name/logo is fine. So applying for an RN# is an option, not a requirement.

You have to have your company's legal name

OR

An RN number. (doesn't have to be yours... it could be the apparel's manufacturer.)

It's easy to get an RN number. Here's the online application (it took a couple of days to get mine back):

https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/TextileRN/wrn..._rn?p_mode=INS

Solmu · August 17th, 2009

Location on the label of country of origin does matter; the FTC specifies that it needs to be on the front of the label (or visible from the front anyway; more usually it's on the front of the back label, and it hangs down past the front label).

The labelling requirements aren't really that complex, so creating your own label is definitely an option.

Using one label for everything isn't the norm, but it's not particularly unusual either. There's nothing wrong with doing it that way.

One of the major reasons for just adding your brand label to someone else's care instructions label is brand flexibility. By which I mean if you use a US made AA shirt for one design and a Peruvian made Alt. App shirt for another design, you can use the same brand label for both. Switching brands wouldn't be a problem. If you have AA's RN on your label and "Made in the USA" on the front, you can use nothing but US made AA products with that label.

This is not necessarily a problem - if you've already decided that's all you're using anyway, for example.

Gratz_The_King · August 17th, 2009

so can i just copy American Apparels RN number and print it on my labels???

also, what about those symbols that are on the care tags? like the washing symbol, the ironing symbol etc.

do most label companies print these if i ask them to?

also it seems like an awful lot of info to put on 1 tag, so maybe i should use 2?

i need to have:
1. name brand
2. country of origin
3. RN number (optional, right?)
4. care info
5. care symbols?

anything else?

Solmu · August 17th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gratz_The_King


	so can i just copy American Apparels RN number and print it on my labels???

Yes, if you are using AA shirts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gratz_The_King


	also, what about those symbols that are on the care tags?

I'm fairly certain they're optional.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gratz_The_King


	do most label companies print these if i ask them to?

They'll print (or weave) whatever you want, but you'll need to provide the finished label design for them to run (or hire a designer to do it for you).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gratz_The_King


	also it seems like an awful lot of info to put on 1 tag, so maybe i should use 2?

It is quite a lot, but it can fit. It's really up to you. If you have a certain design or size in mind though (like a narrow label for example) you might need to use two.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gratz_The_King


	i need to have: 1. name brand 2. country of origin 3. RN number (optional, right?) 4. care info 5. care symbols? anything else?

You also need fibre content. It's worth checking over the FTC's website or the forum FAQ; there's a lot of comprehensive info out there about what needs to be on a label.

The RN is optional, but if it's not there then you need the full legal name of the company - not just the brand name (if they're different).

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should i put the care info on the back of my tag? or just leave the one thats already on there