LABELLING REQUIREMENTS FOR CLOTHING
The Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act 1905 and
Commerce (Imports) Regulations 1940 set out the
labelling requirements for goods imported into
Australia. Customs administers this legislation.
Clothing requires a trade description with the
name of
the country in which the goods were made or
produced, and a true description of the goods.
What constitutes a true description will vary
according
to the goods. A general guide is to provide a
factual
description that will help inform the consumer about
the nature of the goods, for example, a description
such as ‘100% cotton’ on a shirt, would be
acceptable,
provided that description is correct.
The trade description must be in the English
language, in prominent and legible characters, and
on
a principal label or brand affixed in a prominent
position and in as permanent a manner as practicable
to the goods, or if affixture to the goods is
impracticable, to the coverings containing the
goods.
Any other information included on the label brand or
packaging must not contradict or obscure the
required
trade description. This includes illustrations,
wording
or size of lettering.
In addition, the Commerce (Trade Descriptions)
Act
prohibits the importation of goods that bear a false
trade description. A false trade description can be
any description of goods that is false or
misleading.
A trade description may also be false if information
is
omitted from the description and this misleads the
consumer as to the true description of the goods.
Prominent positioning of labels
As mentioned above, trade descriptions on clothes
must be on a principal label or brand affixed in a
prominent position and in as permanent a manner as
practicable to the goods, or if affixture to the
goods is
impracticable, to the coverings containing the
goods.
As such, for the majority of garments labels should
be
affixed in the centre back of the item and not
obscured
by any other label.
Please note that labelling for fibre composition
may be
applied in a position in line with the Australian
Standard for Textiles – Labelling of clothing,
household textiles and furnishings.
Other requirements
Please note that although the Commerce (Trade
Descriptions) Act and Commerce (Imports)
Regulations specify certain requirements for
labelling
imported clothing, clothing may require specific
labelling not covered by this legislation and
administered by agencies other than Customs.
For example (as mentioned above) the Australian
Standard (AS/NZS 2392:1999 Textiles – Labelling of
clothing, household textiles and furnishings) also
sets
out labelling requirements.