Canada's Textile Labelling Act has strict requirements for every garment sold nationally — here's exactly what must appear on your labels before you sell.
You've found a great supplier. The samples look good, the price works, and your first container is on the water. Then a retailer in Ontario rejects your delivery because the labels are missing French text. Or a CBSA inspection pulls your shipment because the fibre content isn't listed correctly.
Clothing label requirements in Canada are strict, specific, and actively enforced. The Canada Textile Labelling Act (CTLA) and its accompanying regulations set out exactly what must appear on every garment and textile product you sell in this country. Getting it wrong isn't just embarrassing — it can mean product recalls, retailer chargebacks, and administrative monetary penalties under the CCPSA.
This guide explains exactly what Canada's textile labelling requirements demand, where importers most often get tripped up, and how to build compliance into your supplier brief before the goods ever ship.
Under the Textile Labelling Act, every textile article sold in Canada must display four core pieces of information. These aren't optional, and they can't be substituted with generic international labels.
Every textile product must show the fibre composition as a percentage, by weight, using only the generic name prescribed in the regulations. This means "cotton," not "Egyptian cotton" or "Supima." It means "polyester," not "microfibre."
Fibres making up 5% or more of the total weight must be listed individually in descending order. Fibres under 5% can be grouped as "other fibres" — but only if that group totals less than 5% of the overall composition. If a blend contains a small amount of cashmere, spandex, or another performance fibre, you cannot legally omit it if it hits that 5% threshold.
One of the most common labelling errors we see on Chinese-made garments: the fibre content is described using trade names or marketing language instead of prescribed generic names. Your supplier brief must specify Canadian requirements explicitly.
The label must identify the "dealer" — which, for an imported product, is you, the importer. Specifically, you must show your full business name (or a registered trade name clearly associated with your company) and your full postal address, including the city, province, and postal code.
A website URL doesn't qualify. A P.O. box may satisfy the address requirement in some cases, but a physical address is safer. Many Canadian importers first discover this requirement when a retailer's compliance team sends back their samples asking for an updated label — a costly delay.
You must disclose where the textile article was manufactured. "Made in China," "Made in Vietnam," or the French equivalent must appear clearly on the label. The country of origin follows rules tied to where the goods underwent "substantial transformation" — for apparel, this typically means where the fabric was cut and sewn.
The declared country must match your commercial invoice and certificate of origin for customs purposes. Mismatching country of origin claims across documents is a serious CBSA compliance risk that can result in shipment delays and penalties separate from any labelling violation.
This is where many non-Canadian businesses and even experienced importers get caught. Under the Textile Labelling Act, all required information must appear in both English and French. This applies to every textile article sold anywhere in Canada — not just Quebec.
So "100% Cotton" must also appear as "100% coton." "Made in China" must also appear as "Fabriqué en Chine." Your company address doesn't need to be translated, but all prescribed elements do.
Chinese factories almost never provide bilingual Canadian labels by default. You must specify this in writing, provide the correct French translations for each required element, and verify the final label file before you approve production.
Care instructions aren't mandated directly by the Textile Labelling Act — they fall under the Textile Care Labelling Standard (CAN/CGSB-86.1) and Health Canada's guidelines under the Consumer Chemicals and Containers Regulations. In practice, every major Canadian retailer requires them, and selling a garment without them can expose you to liability under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act if care-related damage results.
Care symbols must follow the ASTM/ISO standard — the internationally recognized five-symbol system covering washing, bleaching, drying, ironing, and dry cleaning. If your factory produces for both US and Canadian markets, the symbology is the same; the difference is bilingual text-based instructions if your label includes written care directions.
Using the factory's default export label. Most Chinese factories have a standard export label designed for the US market. It's in English only. It may use trade names for fibres. It lists the factory's name, not yours. Never use the factory default without a full review against Canadian requirements.
Not specifying generic fibre names to the supplier. Your supplier's sample label might say "80% nylon, 20% lycra." Lycra is a brand name — the generic is "elastane." If you submit this label to a Canadian retailer's compliance team, it will fail.
Relying on the retailer to label the goods. If you're selling wholesale to a major retailer, they may relabel the product — but that doesn't remove your liability as the importer if the original labels were non-compliant before relabelling occurs. Know your contractual terms carefully.
Putting the label in the wrong place. The CTLA specifies that labels must be "securely attached" and "legible." For garments, this typically means sewn into the neckline or side seam. Hangtags alone are not sufficient for regulated information.
Forgetting the French translation for specialty items. Claims like "Genuine Leather," "Merino Wool," or "Organic Cotton" all require French equivalents if they appear on the label. Many importers get the main fibre content right and miss the marketing claims elsewhere on the label.
The time to address labelling is not when your goods are in a Vancouver warehouse. It's before you place the order.
A compliant supplier brief for Canadian apparel imports should include a label specification sheet showing exactly what text must appear, in what size, and in both languages — don't leave this to your supplier's discretion. It should also include a request for a pre-production label sample, so you can check every element against the Textile Labelling Act requirements before the full label run is printed.
If you're importing children's apparel, you also need to comply with the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act requirements for children's products, which add testing and documentation obligations well beyond basic labelling.
For new importers working with Chinese factories for the first time, our factory compliance documentation guide covers how to request and verify the full documentation chain before your first order ships.
The Canada Consumer Product Safety Act is the primary enforcement mechanism for textile labelling in Canada. Health Canada administers it, and non-compliance can result in mandatory recalls, compliance orders requiring you to stop selling the product, administrative monetary penalties up to $25,000 per violation, and in serious or repeated cases, criminal prosecution.
Retailer-side enforcement is just as significant. Large Canadian retailers — including Hudson's Bay, Canadian Tire, Walmart Canada, and major grocery chains — have internal compliance teams that audit supplier labels. A failed audit typically means a chargeback for relabelling costs and potential delisting of your product.
The CBSA also has the authority to detain or seize textile goods at the border if labelling is non-compliant. This is more common with large commercial shipments, but it's a real risk worth managing before goods ship rather than after they arrive.
Beyond the base CTLA requirements, certain categories carry additional labelling or testing obligations. Children's sleepwear must comply with flammability regulations and carry specific care instruction labels warning against fabric softener. Down and feather fill products must disclose fill composition and percentage using specific regulated terms under the Feather and Down Products Regulations. Products marketed as "organic" or "sustainable" are subject to Competition Act scrutiny — there is no mandatory certification required in Canada currently, but claims must not be misleading or unsubstantiated.
Do I need bilingual labels if I only sell online in English Canada?
Yes. The Textile Labelling Act applies nationally, regardless of the language of your sales channel or target market. All prescribed information must appear in both English and French on every textile article sold in Canada.
Can my supplier use their own label as long as it includes my company name?
No. The label must comply with Canadian requirements — generic fibre names, bilingual text, your dealer address. A factory's standard export label is almost never compliant for the Canadian market without modification.
What if my product is 100% one fibre — does it still need percentage disclosure?
Yes. Even a 100% cotton product must state "100% cotton / 100% coton" on the label. The percentage disclosure is mandatory regardless of composition complexity.
Who is considered the "dealer" if I sell through Amazon FBA Canada?
You are, as the importer of record. Your business name and address must appear on the label. Amazon's name must not appear as the dealer unless Amazon is actually the importer of record.
My goods transit through the US before entering Canada. Do US labelling requirements apply?
For goods destined for sale in Canada, Canadian labelling requirements govern retail compliance. If you're doing a combined US/Canada production run, you'll need to satisfy both FTC Textile Act (US) and CTLA (Canada) requirements — which have meaningful differences worth reviewing before finalizing label artwork.
Navigating Canadian textile labelling requirements — especially when your supplier is in China and doesn't understand Canadian law — is one of the most common pain points we solve for our clients.
At Epic Sourcing Canada, we include label compliance review as part of our sourcing process. We brief factories on Canadian requirements, review pre-production label samples, and flag issues before your goods ship — not after they arrive at a warehouse.
Whether you're placing your first order or you've been importing apparel for years and want to tighten up your compliance process, we can help. Book a free consultation with the Epic Sourcing Canada team and let's make sure your labels are right before your next shipment hits the water.
