What is Fiber Abbreviations?

Fiber abbreviations are two- to four-letter codes written in place of fiber names on fabric content lines, tech packs and order emails: CO is cotton, WO wool, CV viscose, PES polyester, PA polyamide, PAN acrylic and EL elastane (EA also appears on labels). ISO 2076 gives the codes for man-made fibers; on a legal label the fiber name from the official list is written, not the code.

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Nihan Özkan Terminology and Glossary Editor

Published:: 31 October 2026
Fact-checked by:: Gizem Polat

Key facts

A fiber abbreviation is a two- to four-letter code written in place of a fiber name: CO cotton, WO wool, CV viscose, PES polyester, PA polyamide, PAN acrylic, EL elastane.
ISO 2076 covers only man-made fibers; letter codes for natural fibers such as cotton, wool, linen and silk are in a separate standard, DIN 60001-1.
CV is viscose, CMD is modal and CLY is lyocell; all three share the same cellulose II formula but are different fibers.
ISO 2076:2013 lists elastane as EL; EA, seen on some labels, is not in that index, and the GINETEX fiber table gives it in brackets next to EL.
Legal labels carry the fiber name from the official list, not the code; Turkish trade documents generally prohibit codes, except those an international standard defines and the document explains.
60% CO 40% PES means 60% cotton and 40% polyester by weight; EU Regulation 1007/2011 requires fibers to be listed with percentages in descending order.

Fiber abbreviations are two- to four-letter codes written in place of a fiber name on fabric content lines, tech packs and order emails: CO is cotton, WO wool, CV viscose, PES polyester, PA polyamide, PAN acrylic and EL elastane. Codes shorten correspondence but do not replace a legal label, which carries the fiber name from the official list.

What do fiber abbreviations mean?

ISO 2076 defines a code as a two- to four-letter designation used to refer to man-made fiber names conveniently in trade and technical writing (ISO 2076:2013, clause 3.4). The standard covers only man-made fibers; cotton, wool, linen and silk are not in it. Natural fibers and their letter codes belong to a separate standard, DIN 60001-1 (titled “Textile Faserstoffe – Teil 1: Naturfasern und Kurzzeichen”).

Source status (October 22, 2026): the man-made fiber codes below were taken from the code index of ISO 2076:2013. That edition was withdrawn on November 1, 2021 and replaced by ISO 2076:2021 (EVS). The new edition and DIN 60001-1 are paid documents and could not be read, so confirm a code against the current text before writing it into a contract.

Fiber abbreviation table

The fiber names are the English names in Annex I of EU Regulation 1007/2011, and the Turkish column shows what Turkish suppliers write on forms. Man-made fiber codes are from the code index of ISO 2076:2013, Annex E.

Fiber (name in the EU list)	Abbreviation	Turkish term	Basis
Cotton	CO	pamuk	GINETEX (*)
Wool	WO	yün	GINETEX (*)
Flax (or linen)	LI	keten	GINETEX (*)
Silk	SE	ipek	GINETEX (*)
Viscose	CV	viskon	ISO 2076
Modal	CMD	modal	ISO 2076
Lyocell	CLY	lyocell	ISO 2076
Polyester	PES	polyester	ISO 2076
Polyamide or nylon	PA	poliamid (naylon)	ISO 2076
Acrylic	PAN	akrilik	ISO 2076
Elastane (spandex in the US)	EL (EA is also seen)	elastan	ISO 2076

(*) Codes for natural fibers are outside ISO 2076 and the DIN 60001-1 text could not be read; these four codes appear in the same form in the fiber table of GINETEX, the international association for textile care labeling (2012). The ISO index gives codes beyond the table as well, for example CA for acetate, CUP for cupro, PP for polypropylene and AR for aramid.

How to read a fiber content line

Read the number next to each code as a percentage by weight. EU Regulation 1007/2011 requires the name and percentage of each fiber, in descending order (article 9/1; Commission FAQ 2.9).
Convert each code to a fiber name with the table.
Check that the percentages add up to 100.
If the exact ratio matters, have the blend analyzed by a textile testing laboratory; the ISO 1833 series defines these chemical analysis methods.

Hypothetical examples:

Content line	How to read it
60% CO 40% PES	60 percent cotton, 40 percent polyester
95% CV 5% EL	95 percent viscose, 5 percent elastane
70% PAN 30% WO	70 percent acrylic, 30 percent wool
100% PA	all polyamide (nylon)

Abbreviation vs legal label name

The following is general information as of the date of this entry (October 22, 2026) and is not legal advice.

Consumer label: article 5 of the EU Regulation and article 6 of Turkey's regulation (in Turkish) require the composition to be written only with the fiber names listed in the Annex. The list contains no codes, so writing “CO” or “PES” alone may not be enough (our assessment). GINETEX also notes that the abbreviations in its fiber table are for information only and should not be written on a textile label. Turkey's regulation also requires the label to be in Turkish (article 17/3).
Business-to-business documents: in the supply chain, a trade document can take the place of the label (Turkish regulation, article 15/2). In such documents abbreviations are in principle not allowed; a machine-processing code and abbreviations defined in international standards are an exception if they are explained in the same document (article 15/3).
In practice: write “polyester (PES)” instead of “PES” in tech packs and proforma invoices.

For label rules, see the clothing label requirements guide, and for label makers the clothing labels category. For the label of your own product, consult your customs broker or legal adviser.

EL vs EA

In the code index of ISO 2076:2013, elastane is EL; EA is not there. The index gives separate codes for other elastic fibers: elastodiene ED, elastomultiester ELE and elastolefin EOL. The GINETEX fiber table (2012) gives EA and ELAS in brackets next to EL for elastane, and only PES for polyester. A fashion brand's abbreviation page (Ana Alcazar, a commercial source) shows EA as a second spelling of elastane and PL as a second spelling of PES; the regulation PL rests on could not be verified. Because they name the same fiber, read EL or EA as elastane, and write the fiber name in the order as well: “elastane (EL)”.

Frequently asked questions

What does CV mean in fabric?

CV is the code for viscose. Modal is coded CMD and lyocell CLY; according to ISO 2076, viscose, modal, lyocell and cupro share the same cellulose II formula (clause 3.6) but are separate fibers. On a fabric content line CV means viscose, not curriculum vitae or the statistical coefficient of variation.

What does PES mean in fabric?

PES is the code for polyester; a content line of 100% PES means all the fiber is polyester. Some labels write PL instead of PES, but PL is not in the ISO 2076:2013 code index.

What does PA mean in fabric?

PA is the code for polyamide. The EU list gives the fiber name as “polyamide or nylon”, and nylon is an accepted name for polyamide. ISO 2076:2013 notes that in some EU countries the name “nylon” may be used only for polyamide 6.6 (Annex F, Table F.2).

What does EA mean in fabric?

EA means elastane on a content line. The ISO 2076 code is EL; EA is a second spelling seen on labels.

Sources (11)

Written by

Nihan Özkan

Terminology and Glossary Editor

Nihan Özkan is Tekstil Rehberi's terminology and glossary editor. She manages the textile glossary and keeps definitions consistent, Turkish–English equivalents accurate and related terms linked.

Content by Nihan Özkan

Fact-checked by: Gizem Polat

This content was prepared by the Tekstil Rehberi editorial team. Before publication, our verification editor checked its figures, dates and sources against primary sources.

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Also known as

fibre abbreviations, fiber abbreviation, fabric content abbreviations, fiber content abbreviations, textile fiber codes, lif kısaltmaları

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Elastane (Spandex)
Fiber

Elastane (spandex in the US) is a synthetic elastic fiber made of at least 85% segmented polyurethane by mass, which returns quickly to its original length after being stretched to three times that length. In Turkish trade usage it is known as likra (Lycra).
Cotton
Fiber

Cotton is a cellulose-based natural plant fiber that surrounds the seeds of the cotton plant (Gossypium). It is a short-staple fiber, used in clothing and home textiles, pure or blended with fibers such as polyester. In Turkish it is called pamuk.
Polyester
Fiber

Polyester is a fiber extruded from a long-chain synthetic polymer made from petroleum-derived chemicals. It is strong, resists creasing and shrinking, and dries quickly; it is used as continuous filament or as staple fiber.
Viscose (Rayon)
Fiber

Viscose (rayon in US FTC rules) is a regenerated cellulose fiber, made by chemically dissolving cellulose and re-forming it into fiber. Like cotton it is cellulose-based, but it loses about half of its strength when wet.
Polyamide (Nylon)
Fiber

Polyamide (nylon) is a synthetic fiber made from a polymer with repeating amide bonds in its chain. Polyamide and nylon are two names for the same fiber. It is strong, flexible and abrasion-resistant, and is used in hosiery, underwear, swimwear, sportswear, carpets and coil-zipper teeth.
Wool
Fiber

Wool is an animal fiber from the fleece of sheep or lambs, made of the protein keratin. Its scaly, crimped structure keeps you warm, absorbs water vapor and stretches; it felts if it is wet and agitated.

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