Canada Apparel Labelling: Bilingual Rules, CA Numbers and Fibre Content

For a garment sold to a consumer in Canada, start with the Textile Labelling Act and Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations: the prescribed article needs a disclosure label showing its fibre content and dealer identity in the prescribed form. In most sales areas, the fibre-content declaration must be in English and French. A Canadian dealer may use its CA Identification Number in place of its name and postal address. A US RN is not a CA number, and a US-only label does not complete the Canadian fibre-language or dealer-identification check.

The rule applies to prescribed consumer textile articles sold, imported into Canada or advertised by a dealer. Country-of-origin marking, provincial language rules and product-specific safety obligations belong in the destination brief as separate checks.

The useful production control is a Canadian artwork variant, released only after the final bill of materials and the Canadian dealer field are confirmed. That keeps the legal fibre declaration separate from brand copy, size, care instructions and retailer presentation. For the wider process, see our garment labelling guide and the Canada import guide.

What must appear on an apparel label sold in Canada?

A disclosure label for a consumer textile article must show the textile fibre content in the prescribed manner and the dealer's name and postal address, subject to the CA-number option. If the label represents that the article, fabric or fibre is imported, it must also show the country of origin, unless another label on the article carries that country name.

The required fibre information must be clearly and prominently shown, easily legible, in type of equal size and prominence, and set apart from non-required graphic material. For standard apparel, the disclosure label is applied to the article and placed where a prospective purchaser can readily access it. The Regulations allow different treatments for defined categories such as sets, packaged articles and some Schedule III articles, so confirm the product classification before treating a hangtag as the answer.

Label field	Canadian federal check	Production record to use
Fibre content	Generic fibre names and composition shown in the prescribed form	Final fabric and component specification
Language	English and French fibre declaration, unless the stated single-language-area exception applies	Approved bilingual artwork
Dealer identity	Canadian dealer name and postal address, or an eligible CA number	Brand or importer legal details
Country name	Required when the label makes an imported-product, fabric or fibre representation	Approved origin wording, where used
Attachment	Article bears the label at sale; placement must be accessible	Label-placement page and sewn sample

A coat with a warming lining, a garment with a large contrasting trim, or a set sold together may need a different layout. Read the construction before compressing declarations into one line.

Which Canadian label information has to be bilingual?

The fibre-content information required by paragraph 11(1)(a) must appear in both English and French. The Regulations provide a narrow exception where the article is, or will be, sold to the public in an area where only one official language is continuously used for consumer purchases, and the fibre information appears in that language. For a programme intended for general Canadian distribution, bilingual fibre copy is the practical default to release.

The Competition Bureau states that dealer identification and country of origin, when required, do not have to be bilingual under these textile requirements. That distinction is easy to miss on a crowded label: the bilingual obligation attaches to generic fibre names and information relating to fibre content, not automatically to every word printed beside them.

Copy on the label	Bilingual treatment under the federal textile rule	Artwork control
95% Cotton / Coton	Yes	Use the recognised English and French generic names
5% Elastane / Élasthanne	Yes	Keep percentage and fibre declaration aligned across both languages
Shell / Extérieur and Lining / Doublure where they introduce fibre declarations	Yes, as fibre-related information	Translate the component heading with the declaration
Dealer name, postal address or CA number	No federal bilingual requirement in this rule	Use the approved legal identity exactly
Care, size and brand wording	Not a mandatory federal textile fibre declaration	Check any separate applicable requirement and commercial brief

Two labels can carry language versions in permitted circumstances. Keep both full declarations visible in the proof, then check both sides of a folded or turned label on the physical sample.

How does a CA Identification Number work on a garment label?

A CA Identification Number may replace the dealer's name and postal address on a consumer textile article label. The Regulations make this option available to a dealer resident in Canada that makes, has made, processes, finishes, retails, imports, or owns and distributes consumer textile articles in Canada, provided the application information is current.

The Competition Bureau describes the CA number as a five-digit identification number preceded by CA. It is an identification route for an eligible Canadian dealer. It is not a generic supplier code to add to an export label, and it does not replace the need to determine which dealer's identity should appear for the Canadian sale.

CA and RN look similar because both are compact numbers used on apparel labels. The FTC says an RN may stand in for a US business name on a US textile label; it does not make that RN a Canadian CA Identification Number. Put the two fields in separate columns of the artwork matrix.

That separation prevents a common error: copying a US artwork file, retaining RN as the sole business identifier, and assuming its number can serve the Canadian disclosure. The Canadian label needs its own dealer-identity decision.

How should fibre content be written for Canada?

Each textile fibre present at five per cent or more by mass must be shown by its generic name, in order of predominance by mass, with the amount immediately before or after the generic name. Fibres below five per cent may be shown individually or, subject to the Regulations' conditions, as other fibre or other fibres after the named fibres. The label is a composition statement, not a merchandising description.

Where a garment has sections that differ in fibre content, the Regulations can require each section to be described separately. Linings for warmth, laminated or bonded linings, and interlining, padding or filling for warmth have their own separate-disclosure rules. Trimming above the stated surface-area threshold also receives separate treatment. Map shell, lining, padding, contrast panels and trim before the label copy is frozen.

Garment construction	Fibre-content question	Practical label-file action
Single-fabric T-shirt	Does the final fabric specification match the stated generic name and percentage?	Link the label declaration to the approved bulk fabric record
Jacket with a warmth lining	Does the lining need a separately identified fibre declaration?	Keep shell and lining composition as separate artwork fields
Garment with contrasting textile panels	Do sections differ in fibre content?	Describe each applicable section separately in the composition matrix
Style with decorative elastic or ornamentation	Does the specific exclusion or disclosure rule apply?	Check the construction against the Regulations before using an exclusion phrase

Generic names come from the Regulations, not a fabric trade name or product story. A trademark or descriptive term cannot replace the generic fibre name.

How durable and accessible must the Canadian disclosure label be?

For articles in Schedule I that are not in Schedule III, the disclosure label must be made and applied so it can reasonably be expected to withstand and remain legible through ten cleanings. In all cases, the article must bear the disclosure label when sold to the consumer. This is why a label proof needs a physical check, not only a PDF sign-off.

The Regulations also require the disclosure label to be on the article, except where a permitted alternative applies, and in a place readily accessible to a prospective purchaser. When a garment is sold in packaging that hides its disclosure label, the prescribed information generally needs to appear on the wrapper, package or container unless the inside label is clearly visible.

For a sewn garment label, inspect attachment, folding, print contrast and legibility after the relevant cleaning trial. Care information is not a mandatory federal textile declaration in Canada, but must be accurate if supplied. Our fabric-testing guide explains the material review.

Where does a US apparel label fall short in Canada?

A US label can contain accurate fibre percentages, country of origin, an RN and care instructions, yet still be incomplete for a Canadian sale. US rules use English disclosures and allow an eligible US firm's RN in place of its business name. Canada's federal textile rule calls for English and French fibre-content information in most consumer sales areas and calls for the Canadian dealer's name and postal address or an eligible CA number.

US label feature	Why it may not complete the Canadian check	Canadian action
English-only fibre declaration	Canadian fibre information is normally required in English and French	Add the approved French fibre declaration
RN as sole identity	RN belongs to the US identification system	Use the Canadian dealer name and postal address or its eligible CA number
Permanent care label	Canada does not make care copy the core federal textile disclosure	Keep it accurate, then check fibre and dealer fields separately
Origin statement	Origin wording does not substitute for the Canadian fibre or dealer fields	Retain only approved origin wording and complete the other fields

The Canadian composition must reflect the final garment, both language versions must be equally legible, and the dealer field must be correct for the Canadian sale. A Canadian label layout is often clearer in sampling and final inspection.

How should a Canadian label be released before bulk?

Release the Canadian label after the material specification is stable, not when a first development sample is sent. A late change to shell composition, warming lining, contrast panel or stretch content can change the legal declaration. A late decision about the Canadian dealer can change the identity field. Both need version control before labels are ordered.

Approval stage	What to lock	Check on the physical garment
Composition review	Final generic names, percentages and component disclosures	Label matches the final bill of materials
Language review	English and French fibre declaration	Both versions are complete, equal in prominence and readable
Dealer review	Canadian postal identity or CA number	Identity field matches the released Canadian programme
Label sample	Position, folding, print and attachment	Required text is accessible and remains legible
Bulk inspection	Sealed artwork revision and destination allocation	Correct Canadian label is on the correct style and colourway

The tech pack should name the Canadian label version, placement and source composition record. Add a label-impact question to each material change: does it alter fibre composition, a separately disclosed component, care performance or the released artwork?

Short FAQ

Must a Canadian apparel label be bilingual?

Yes, for the required fibre-content information in most Canadian consumer sales areas. The Regulations have a narrow exception for an area where only one official language is continuously used for consumer purchases.

Can a CA number replace the fibre-content declaration?

No. An eligible CA Identification Number can replace the dealer's name and postal address. Fibre content remains a separate required disclosure.

Can an RN number be used as the CA number?

No. An RN is issued by the US Federal Trade Commission for its labelling system. A CA number is the Canadian dealer-identification option administered under Canada's textile rules.

Are care instructions mandatory on a federal Canadian textile label?

No. The Competition Bureau's federal textile guide describes care information as voluntary. If care information is given, it must not be false or misleading and should match the finished garment.

The Canadian label judgement

The Canadian label is not a US label with French added at the bottom. It is a separate compliance approval built from the final garment: bilingual fibre content, the right Canadian dealer identity or CA number, and a disclosure label that is legible, accessible and suitable for its product category.

Treat the CA field as a Canadian dealer decision and treat the fibre declaration as a bilingual composition statement. Those are the two controls that most clearly show where a US artwork file stops and a Canadian garment label begins.