Call for Regulatory Oversight on Garment Care Labelling - CHOICE #450

Are incorrect or misleading care labels on garments at the root of many a dispute between consumers and dry cleaners?

Each year, about 300 complaints on laundry services were brought to the Consumer Council for resolution. The disputes were largely about loss or damage, shrinkage or colour run.

Care labelling for garments sold in Hong Kong is not specifically regulated nor mandatory as in some countries, notably the U.S., and Australia.

This has given rise to many questionable care labels. A common example concerns contradictory instructions: "dry clean only" and "hand wash cold" appearing side by side on the same label.

Often garment manufacturers become over-cautious, in their own interest, by simply labelling "dry clean only" - even for low-cost apparels of one or two hundred dollars.

The Consumer Council suggests that Hong Kong should consider some form of regulation on care labelling, with reference to successful experiences overseas.

In the U.S. where care instruction is believed to be a deciding factor when consumers shop for clothing, manufacturers and importers are required to ensure care instructions are securely attached to all textile wearing apparels sold in the country.

Furthermore, label makers must have a reasonable basis for all care instructions. For instance, a garment cannot be labelled "dry clean only" unless there is proof that washing is harmful.

In Australia, it introduced a mandatory care labelling standard to inform consumers and launderers of appropriate cleaning methods applied on the garment; prevent damage to clothing caused by inappropriate treatment; extend the useful life of a product through proper treatment; and allow consumers to be fully informed about the potential maintenance costs at time of purchase.

Australian garment suppliers must ensure that care instructions are written in English and permanently attached to the article. Providing overly cautious instructions such as "dry clean only" or "hand wash in cold water only" on a garment that can be safely washed using other methods may breach the law.

And if clothes are damaged even after following the care instructions on the label, consumers have the statutory right, by law, to approach the seller to obtain a remedy.

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's regulation impact study, the regulation on care labelling for clothing and textile products is effective in reducing costs associated with liability and damage from inappropriate methods used, maintaining a low level of consumer complaints related to garment care, and minimizing garment damage and subsequent landfill waste through proper care instructions.

Another common local consumer complaint stems from the general practice of laundry operators setting the maximum compensation for loss or damage at five times the laundry fee. Many consumers are dissatisfied with such unreasonable term especially for expensive clothing.

In one typical case, the complainant (a Ms. Lok) took a garment of $2,800 for dry cleaning, and when due for collection, the garment could not be made available despite repeated attempts. After more than a month, the garment was still missing. The shop asked for five months to locate it. Ms. Lok would allow only two more weeks or compensate her loss.

The deadline passed, and the shop agreed to compensation in accordance with the terms and conditions on the back of the receipt, i.e. five times the cost of the laundry fee.

Ms. Lok sought help from the Council but no settlement could be reached on the compensation amount. The Council subsequently assisted the complainant to pursue her case with the Small Claims Tribunal for redress. The Control of Exemption Clauses Ordinance prohibits the use of indemnity terms and conditions that are unreasonable.

Another common practice of laundry shops is to broadly define their services as: drycleaning, wet cleaning, and wash-n-fold in their price list. However little information, if any, is given as to what exactly would be provided under each service.

A laundry shop may violate the recently amended Trade Descriptions Ordinance in connection with false trade description of service if it makes its own decision to provide wet cleaning service when its customers have explicitly requested for drycleaning service. For good practices, the laundry shop should have clear communication with consumers on the mode of cleaning to avoid unnecessary disputes.

A general misconception of consumers is that clothing would not get wet during the drycleaning process. In fact, the operation for drycleaning is quite similar to that of regular machine wash; the only difference is that in place of water it uses organic solvent.

Drycleaning generally performs better in avoiding shrinkage and dye-running. But organic solvent may dissolve the plastic content in polyester and high speed machine swirling and spinning may damage delicate fibre.

In the interest of environmental protection, consumers are advised to take that into account when purchasing garments specified with "dry clean only", as emission and disposal of the dry cleaning solvent pollute the environment. On the other hand, consumers may consider clothing that allows low temperature washing and hang-to-dry to minimize energy consumption.