The 1994 Helvetica Nutrition Facts label was surrounded by a bold black box. The box indicated that the space inside represented government branding, and “manufacturers could not infringe on public property,” according to Belser. Soon the label was being promoted to Americans as encouraging healthier choices and helping to reduce health care costs. Two years later, the UK followed suit. Today, most countries have adopted the label format. Italian designer Massimo Vignelli called it a masterpiece of socially responsible “information architecture” in 1996.
Food manufacturers quickly reformulated their products to reduce saturated fat and sodium and increase healthy ingredients like fiber.
Today we take for granted the ability to know how much sugar is in a cup of whipped cream. Shouldn’t we know what’s in our clothes without having to hire a private pharmacist?
Ghose announced the clothing facts label on LinkedIn — “I figured some of my friends would see it,” he says — and was immediately surprised by the flood of responses he received, including one from an impact measurement consulting group and a multi-brand apparel manufacturer that pledged funding.
Then Mr. Ghose made a rookie mistake: When the clothing company asked for an exclusivity deal to fund the label in 2023, he agreed and stopped talking to other parties. “I naively agreed to it and stopped talking to anyone else,” Mr. Ghose says.
Within a year, he says, it became clear that Gose’s goals and the brand’s were at odds. “I wanted to create a label that people could trust, and that probably put them off,” he says. “We wouldn’t use the word ‘chemicals.’ We wouldn’t use the word ‘wages.’ We wouldn’t use the word ‘microfiber.'” A year ago, the company pulled out of the agreement, and the clothing label was back to square one.
Goeth is now in talks again with other potential investors, including “a major European brand which has approached us with a proposal”, but declined to name the brand for fear of losing another potential investor.
Maybe Ghose is looking for help in the wrong place. Food nutrition and device energy use data are provided by manufacturers because governments require them for the benefit of the entire population. Labels are useful because the data is universal and uniform, and not dictated by corporate branding. It is up to lawmakers and government agencies to adopt the labels, just as they did with nutrition facts labels.
