SGS : Andean Community Proposes Technical Regulation on Labelling of Clothing

The Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) proposed a technical regulation with indication of minimum labelling information to be included for apparel, accessories and home textile products. The Technical Regulation will be effective in 18 months after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Cartagena Agreement.

SAFEGUARDS | SoftlinesNO. 053/19

The notified Andean Technical Regulation on Labelling of Clothing (SG / Dt-CAC.2012.01 - Version 2019.02.11) establishes the minimum information requirements for labels attached to manufactured or imported textile products that are sold within the Andean subregion. It also sets forth requirements concerning the presentation of such information in order to prevent practices that may mislead consumers.

The labels of the content must include at least the following information:

• Composition of the material used in the product;
• Care and labelling instructions, in accordance with the provisions of the ISO 3758:2012 'Textiles - Care labelling code using symbols';
• Identification of the manufacturer or importer, including tax identification or other required records in the country of destination for the marketing of products (the inclusion of trademarks and logos does not replace the identification of the manufacturer or importer);
• Country of origin;
• Size or dimensions, as applicable.

According to the Technical Regulation, the information provided for the identification of manufacturer or importer and size or dimensions may be labelled on a non-permanent label, but the rest of the content must be labelled on permanent labels. The label must be indelible, legible, visible and easily accessible to the consumer. The information may be presented on one or more labels and must be expressed in Spanish (additional languages may be used). The dimensions must be expressed using the International System of Units of Measure (SI), and the sizes must be expressed in alphabetic or numerical forms, or both. Any additional or special information provided to the consumer or user, should not cover or distort the minimum information required. Labels cannot be corrected by superimposing required information on the label.

In addition, for sets or package containing 2 or more textile products, each of the contained articles must be labeled individually to meet the labeling requirements. When by design or nature, textile articles made of the same material are sold in pairs (e.g. mittens, socks), at least one of the pieces that make up the pair is required to bear the label(s) with the minimum information.

For detailed information and requirements, please refer to the Project Andean Technical Regulation on Labelling of Clothing (in Spanish).

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Consumer and Retail - Softlines
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