Article Designation: Refereed 1 JTATM Volume 12, Issue 1, 2021 Volume 12, Issue 1, 2021 Exploring Care Label Application in Apparel Industries in Zimbabwe Felisia Chimbind, Clothing and Textile Technology, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe Walter Chipambwa, Clothing and Textile Technology, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe ABSTRACT Textile care labeling makes the manufacturer accountable for the product’s performance and at the same time educates the apparel consumer on how to take care of the products they buy. The study therefore sought to find out how the Zimbabwean clothing manufacturers design and apply care labels for their products. Eleven clothing manufacturers from the two largest cities in Zimbabwe were purposively selected for the study. An exploratory case study design in qualitative research approach was used in the study. Face to face interviews and observation were used to collect data from quality control managers from the sampled companies. The study found that although the apparel manufacturers applied care labels on their products, little attention was accorded to quality of the labels since most of the manufacturers did not carry out relevant tests to guide them in designing care label information, also some companies used same care labels for products with different fiber content and did not apply care labels on all products. Keywords: care labels, Zimbabwe, label quality Introduction Care labels are important because they guide consumers in decision making when purchasing textiles. Quite a number of different labeling methods or tags are used worldwide causing confusion in the market place. Some of these textile care labels do not provide relevant information on ironing. European Union (EU) institutions and their respective consumer council recommended that the textile regulation be simplified to allow product users to get more information on how to use and care for the textile products (Kokas-Palicska, 2011). The consumer council and the EU advised that the textile regulation board should engage a comprehensive research to examine the need for mandatory labeling of textile products. The issues to be addressed include fashion product manual bearing use instructions; unification of product sizes, indication of country where the product was made and allergic materials incorporated in the product, electronic tagging and other