LABELLING
REQUIREMENTS FOR SHOES
The Commerce (Trade Descriptions) Act 1905 and
Commerce (Imports) Regulations 1940 set out the
labelling requirements for certain goods imported
into Australia. Customs administers this
legislation.
Shoes require a
trade description including the name of the country
in which the goods were made or produced, and a true
description of the goods.
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.
Additional
labelling requirements for shoes Regulation 15B of
the Commerce (Imports) Regulations sets out
additional labelling requirements for shoes,
specifically in relation to composition labelling
and positioning of labels. It requires that the
trade description applied to shoes includes:
where soles,
uppers and quarter linings consist entirely of
leather - the words “all leather sole”, “ all
leather upper” and “all leather quarter lining”;
where soles
consist partly of leather - a true statement of the
materials composing the sole;
where soles do
not consist entirely or partly of leather - the
words “synthetic sole”, or “non-leather sole”;
where uppers
consist partly of leather - a true statement of the
material composing the upper;
where uppers do
not consist entirely or partly of leather - the
words “synthetic upper” or “non-leather upper”;
where quarter
linings consist partly of leather - a true statement
of the materials composing the quarter lining; and
where quarter
linings do not consist entirely or partly of leather
– the words “synthetic quarter lining” or
“non-leather quarter lining”.
Positioning of
Labels
In the case of
all shoes, the trade description must be impressed
or embossed on the shoe in clearly legible letters
not less than 2.5mm in height in one of the
following positions:
• on the waist of
the outer sole of the shoe;
• on the inside of the upper above the waist of the
shoe;
• on the heel seat or waist area of the sock lining
or, if there is no sock lining;
• on the heel seat or waist area of the inner sole;
• or on the tongue of the shoe.
If the material
of the shoe does not reasonably allow the trade
description to be impressed or embossed on it, the
trade description must be impressed or embossed on a
label of rubber, plastic, durable cloth or any other
durable material, and attached to the shoe by
vulcanisation, adhesion or any other secure means.
Any other
information included on the label brand or packaging
must not contradict or obscure the required trade
description.
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 nature of the goods.
Definitions
shoes means
boots, shoes, sandals or other footwear but does not
include socks, stockings or other hose or ski boots
designed to fit ski bindings, being ski boots having
moulded plastic uppers and rigid soles that do not
have a replaceable sole section.
sock lining means
the thin slip of leather, paper or material that is
affixed to the upper surface of the inner sole.
sole in relation
to a shoe, means all that part of the shoe
(including the heel) which, when the shoe is worn by
a person, is under the foot of the wearer other
than:
(a) the inner
sole;
(b) the sock lining; or
(c) thread, wax, rivets, pegs, nails, toe plates,
heel plates, heel tips or heel caps.
upper means the
outer covering of the part of a shoe above the inner
sole, but does not include any thread, lace, eyelet,
buckle, button or other adornment.
What if my goods have a false description?
The Commerce
(Trade Descriptions) Act provides that goods
imported in contravention of the Commerce (Imports)
Regulations may be seized by Customs.
While Customs may
permit the re-labelling of contravening goods where
it is considered that the contravention was neither
intentional nor reckless, we recommend that you
ensure your goods comply with the legislation prior
to their importation.
Where
re-labelling is permitted, goods can only be
released once the trade description is correct and
all Customs formalities have been completed. You may
also be asked to provide evidence that you have
instructed your suppliers to correctly label goods
in future.