What Is a Hang Tag? Definition, Parts and What Buyers Check

A hang tag is a printed card hung from a garment, normally by a plastic fastener or a waxed cotton string, and it is the first surface a shopper touches in a store. It carries the brand, style number, size and price. It is not a legal label: fibre composition and care instructions must sit on a permanent care label sewn into the garment.

1. The four parts of a hang tag

Every tag is four separate decisions — board, hole, attachment and print — and changing one changes both cost and look. A 350 g/m² coated board with a punched hole, a metal eyelet and a 15 cm cotton string is the most common retail build; thin board with a plastic fastener belongs to fast fashion.

Folds buy a second surface without a second tag: a single fold gives two panels, a gate fold three. Folded tags need a crease score before folding, otherwise the board cracks along the fold after a few days in a humid warehouse — the most common appearance complaint in reorders.

2. Paper weight and size, in g/m² and cm

Specify weight in g/m² and thickness in mm together: a 350 g/m² board measures 0.35–0.45 mm, and two mills’ 350 g/m² grades can differ by 20% in stiffness. That gap is the difference between a premium tag and a business card. German and French buyers usually quote both numbers — g/m² plus mm — instead of asking for something thicker.

3. What may go on the tag — and what may not

Brand, style number, size, price, barcode, QR code, country of origin and a short fibre summary may all sit on the tag. What cannot depend on it is the legal care information. Under EU Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 fibre composition must be stated on a label permanently attached to the garment, and the US FTC care labelling rule (16 CFR Part 423) requires instructions that stay with the garment for its life. A hang tag is cut off at home on day one.

Since 13 December 2024 the EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR, (EU) 2023/988) also expects a responsible person inside the EU and traceable producer information. Most brands print it on the care label or the back of the tag; print it only on the tag and the information disappears the moment the tag is cut, which is exactly what market surveillance looks for.

4. Six checks before approving the sample

• Text: style number, size run and price must match the purchase order line by line, especially when one style has several colourways.
• Colour: compare with the approved Pantone chip under D50 light, not office lighting.
• Hole: 5–8 mm from the trimmed edge, centred to 0.5 mm; under 3 mm and the board tears in transit.
• Attachment: 12–15 cm cotton string or a 7 cm plastic fastener, pull-tested at 5 kg; fastener length must suit the distance from hole to collar.
• Barcode: first-read pass with a handheld scanner; a bar gain of 0.3 mm already fails at the till. Keep a quiet zone of at least 3 mm for EAN-13.
• Surface: no scuffing on matte lamination, no foil flaking after a 180° fold — both show up mostly in humid months.

5. What moves the price

Cost is the die and plate fee spread over the run, plus board, print and attachment. Each design needs its own die, so putting several sizes on one sheet lowers the unit price. Most Chinese suppliers open at 3,000–5,000 pieces per design; below that, digital print on stock board beats offset plus a die.

Related reading

• Hang tag sizes: choosing between 4.5×9 cm and 9×12 cm
• Hang tag paper: coated, kraft, textured and black card
• What is a care label? Legal role, symbols and placement