A square outline, the GINETEX base symbol category covering all drying instructions on a garment care label.
Also known as: Drying square symbol
One of five base categories in the GINETEX/ISO 3758 textile care labelling system, covering all drying methods: a circle inside the square indicates tumble drying (with dots for heat level), while vertical or diagonal lines indicate a natural-drying method (line drying, drip drying, or flat drying).
Covers all drying methods for a garment: a circle inside the square denotes tumble drying (with dots indicating heat level), while various line patterns denote natural drying methods such as line drying, drip drying, or drying flat.
Contexts: Laundry
Related forms that are not treated as separate canonical symbols — see our variant rules.
Tumble drying permitted
A circle inside the square, with dots indicating the permitted heat level — this is the base form that the prohibition variant (see the related do-not-tumble-dry symbol) crosses out.
Natural drying methods
Lines inside the square indicate a natural-drying method: a horizontal line for line/flat drying, a curved line for drip drying without spin-drying, and diagonal lines (top-left corner) for drying in shade.
An empty square outline. In the GINETEX care-labelling system the square always means drying, whatever is drawn inside it — a circle inside the square indicates tumble drying, while lines inside indicate natural drying, so the square is the category and its contents are the instruction.
Both belong to the Laundry care symbols system.
The 'do not tumble dry' symbol is the specific prohibition state of this category's tumble-dry (circle-in-square) variant.