We’ve all seen them, those little symbols on the tags of our garments, telling us how to best care for our clothes. But do you know what they really mean? While some of the garment care instructions are written out, symbols are becoming more commonplace and help to make the tags smaller.

The symbols were developed by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), using a system that is simple and easy to learn. To help you decipher these symbols, the American Cleaning Institute has developed the two guides included below: Your Guide to Fabric Care Symbols and, for a short-cut to understanding the symbols, Fabric Care Language Made Easy!

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• Quick Guide to reading Garment Care Symbols (thewearitwellproject.com)