The European Union’s (EU’s) Joint Actions on Compliance of Products (JACOP) 2025 programme found 37% of 132 clothing items had incorrect fibre labelling, especially blends and online products.
The Commission views this as a systemic compliance issue, signalling stricter enforcement and alignment with future ESPR and Digital Product Passport (DPP) requirements.
The European Commission recently announced the results of a coordinated market surveillance campaign under JACOP 2025 programme.
This was the first time the Commission organized a dedicated JACOP action specifically to verify fibre composition claims on clothing through laboratory testing.
Market surveillance authorities from Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Malta and Portugal collected 132 clothing samples.
A total of 44 tops, 36 baby clothing items, 15 active wear items, 12 nightwear garments, five scarves and 20 other types of clothing made from wool, cotton and fibre blends were sampled.
Among the key findings, 37% of the tested items or 49 out of 132 were non-compliant. The most common issues were incorrect fibre percentages and, in some cases, undeclared or substituted cheaper fibres.
Failure rates were significantly higher for blended fabrics, particularly natural and artificial fibre blends or 64% and for items purchased online 46%.
Certain categories showed particularly high non-compliance, like scarves at 80%, tops at 54% and baby clothing at 25%.
“Inaccurate fibre labelling not only misleads consumers but can also undermine fair competition and complicate textile recycling, as accurate fibre identification is essential for proper sorting and circularity,” the commission said.
“While Member States have always been responsible for enforcing Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 on textile fibre names and labelling, this coordinated campaign signals increasing regulatory attention on labelling accuracy,” it added.
The Commission further said, “Non-compliant products may face corrective actions, including withdrawal from the market or mandatory relabelling.”
These results are also expected to lead to more market surveillance activity and may influence upcoming requirements under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), particularly in relation to the Digital Product Passport (DPP).
JACOP is a European Commission initiative that coordinates market surveillance authorities from different EU Member States to jointly test products for compliance with EU rules.
Click here to view the European Commission report: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/6eff6b1f-6aba-11f1-ae88-01aa75ed71a1
Image courtesy: Label Dost
