GINETEX, the International Association for Textile Care Labeling, shares the result of the second European Barometer for 2019 the textile care label and the Europeans", conducted with IPSOS. The survey was conducted in seven European countries: France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Spain. 

Europeans appreciate their clothes and wish to keep them for as long as possible. This is one of the major trends identified by the barometer. In the seven surveyed countries, for instance, almost all respondents (97%) had purchased at least one item of clothing in the past six months. The proportions vary between 94% in Sweden and 98% in Italy and Spain. Europeans are concerned about the durability of their clothing and pay great attention to their care instructions: 70% respect their textile label’s guidelines - a relatively stable result (+1 point) compared to the last edition of our barometer. On this specific subject, however, answers differ quite significantly between the countries: 78% of Swedes follow the care instructions, 71% do so in France while only 64% do so in the United Kingdom.

When they were asked why they followed these guidelines, two out of three respondents mentioned that they wanted to keep their clothing for as long as possible that durability of clothing is a widely shared issue in Europe. Europeans are therefore sensitive to textile a label, referring to that whether they actually understand the care symbols is another question. The symbol for ironing is perfectly-identified: 98% of Europeans recognize it. The same goes for the washing symbol, which is well recognized by almost nine out of ten people (89%). For the other symbols, however, the proportions are much lower. Only 28% of respondents know the symbol for bleaching (although 45% in Spain and 40% in Italy do understand it), 24% know the symbol for drying and only 15% can identify the professional cleaning symbol.