Definition
Fiber codes are standardized letter abbreviations that uniquely identify textile fibers and fiber types. They are internationally defined in standard EN ISO 2076 and enable uniform, language-independent labeling on care labels, in technical documents, and in trade. Examples include CO for cotton, WO for wool, PES for polyester, and PA for polyamide.
Use in the textile industry
In the textile industry, fiber codes are used primarily on care labels, in product descriptions, and on packaging to indicate the fiber composition of an article in a standardized and concise manner. They form the basis for raw material declaration to the trade and to consumers, and are used in shipping documents, test reports, and international sourcing. Particularly for blended fabrics, the combined listing of multiple fiber codes with percentage figures enables precise raw material identification.
Learn textile knowledge in context
You have just looked up a single technical term. In textil trainer, you learn how textile materials, processes, and contexts are connected.
The free learning platform teaches textile fundamentals step by step in interactive online courses. Each online course includes its own glossary with the most important terms of the respective topic. Across all courses, more than 600 textile terms with narrated explanations are available.
textil trainer is developed together with the Chair of Textile Technologies at Chemnitz University of Technology, chemmedia AG, and companies and educational institutions from the textile sector.