Read The Label

Your care labels are not there for decoration.

Care labels exist to help you get the best out of your clothing. A lot of us don't read them, and for the longest time, neither did I. You probably still don't, and I'm not judging you (or maybe I am. Just a bit). 

There’s a label on most clothes that you own. Sometimes you cut it out, sometimes you ignore it… until your fabric starts to fade or to shrink, and you start to wonder what went wrong.

You might even say "what a waste!" or believe you were ripped off your hard-earned money. In some cases, you were. Other times, not necessarily. You just skipped caring for the clothing appropriately.

Care labels are instructions from a clothing manufacturer, telling you how to get the best out of the clothes. Considering that most care labels are a dump of symbols that often make no sense at first glance, I get it. The good news is, these symbols are universal and mean the same thing every time, across brands, across countries, across fabric types.

Here are categories of care instructions you'd typically find:

• Washing: If you throw every clothe in the washer, that might be why some of your clothes don't last. The label will tell you the best methods to wash a piece of clothing and at what temperature.

• Bleaching: Once you see white clothes, you think 'bleach!'. Smh. Check the care labels first. They'll tell you whether to bleach your clothes and, in some cases, what kind of bleach to use or avoid.

• Drying: Some clothing should never be put in a dryer. These instructions will tell you. They'll even tell you whether to dry your clothes flat or hanging. 

• Ironing: Ironing is always delicate. Some clothes require a specific temperature to retain their composition; others should never be touched by an iron. These symbols will tell you.

• Dry cleaning: Dry cleaning always sounds like a great idea, but some clothes are not meant to be dry cleaned. Look out for pointers around this on your care label. 

Damage are usually gradual and eventually irreversible. By the time you realise it, it's too late, and you’re standing, screaming "Why me?!" 

Reading the label once is a small price to pay to prevent future regret and avoid losing the best dress you ever had.

Every Uani t-shirt comes with a care label.

By the way, you might see handwash; that's an error. Your Uani t-shirts are machine washable (with similar colours). Enjoy wearing it!