Take a look at the clothing apparel in your closet. From your shirts to your pants, you will always find one thing attached on the inside: a label! Clothing apparel is an enormous business in the United States, importing about $80 billion in clothing annually. If your business is thinking about importing apparel from overseas to America, it is critical that you are following the Care Labeling Rule to ensure that your products are not denied entry at the ports by The Customs Border and Protection (CBP).
What Is The Care Labeling Rule?
The CBP and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) work together to enforce labeling laws that require that every imported garment or wearing apparel to contain a label. If you are importing apparel, you must make sure that care labels are attached to your products before they are sold within the country. Within these labels, it must contain the following:
Country of origin: The FTC requires that labels must disclose where the garment was manufactured. This can often be seen as “Made In [Country]”
Manufacturer or importer name
Fiber content: all garments sold in the United States must state fiber contents in descending order of percentage. For example, “70% Cotton, 30% Rayon”
Where Should Labels Be?
To make sure that your clothing apparel imports are compliant with the CBP and FTC regulations, attach labels in a place where it can be easily identified by consumers. If your garment has a neck line, the country of origin label must be seen in the center inside of the neck. You can combine your country of origin label with the care label, or attach the care label somewhere else within the garment. For tops, a popular placement of where care labels can be attached are on the side seam inside your garment.
Also see the FTC’s Care Labeling Rule Compliance Guide for more information.
If you would like a trusted customs broker to advise you on the labeling procedure for apparel imports, please contact info@spiritchbinc.com or call 714-738-1196.
Comments