Do not bleach
Bleaching is not allowed for the item.
Easily confused with
How to read it
A triangle crossed out with a diagonal cross means no bleach of any kind, chlorine or non-chlorine.
Also searched as: crossed out triangle.
Where a garment's own label or its manufacturer says otherwise, that takes precedence.
Differences by country or standard
In the Canadian government's guide the crossed-out triangle is drawn solid black; in GINETEX's international guide it is an outline. Both mean the same.
The US standard, ASTM D5489, first drew “do not bleach” as an empty triangle with a cross, but that symbol had a different meaning in Mexico, so ASTM changed it to a shaded triangle. Industry Canada then pointed out that people might read the shaded triangle as “do not use non-chlorine bleach” rather than “do not use any bleach”, and ASTM changed it again, to a blacked-in triangle with a cross, to make clear that no bleach of either kind is meant. The US Federal Trade Commission recorded the changes in 1997, when it first allowed care symbols in place of words.
Read next
- Next in Laundry symbolsTumble dry, normal heatThe item can be tumble dried at the normal heat setting.
- The same shape in North and Central American flagsFlag of JamaicaJamaica’s flag is a gold diagonal cross with green triangles at the top and bottom and black triangles at the sides. The Jamaica Information Service gives its meaning as “The sun shineth, the land is green and the people are strong and creative”: black for the strength and creativity of the people, gold for the beauty of the sunlight and the wealth of the country, green for hope and farming.
More laundry symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with crosses or triangles.
Sources
- Textiles — Care labelling code using symbols, ISO 3758, ISO, Abstract (ISO 3758:2023)
- Standard Guide for Care Symbols for Care Instructions on Textile Products, ASTM D5489, ASTM International, section 4.6 (ASTM D5489-25)
- Textile Care Symbols, GINETEX, the International Association for Textile Care Labelling, p. 6
- Guide to Apparel and Textile Care Symbols, CAN/CGSB-86.1-2003, Office of Consumer Affairs, Government of Canada, p. 3
- Trade Regulation Rule on Care Labeling of Textile Wearing Apparel and Certain Piece Goods (interim rule, 1997), 62 FR 5724, 6 February 1997, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Register (govinfo.gov)
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 30, 2026. How we research
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