Care labels are also a key consideration when buyers browse for clothes. Although some customers opt for the ease of dry cleaning, others favor the simplicity of washable apparel. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces the Care Labeling Regulations, which enable suppliers and dealers to affix care directions to clothing. In reality, surveys show that buyers want washing labels. Some producers are seeking to enter both markets with clothing that either process can wash. The Law allows you to have more than one set of care instructions if you have a fair justification for each instruction. Many manufacturers offer instructions for both approaches but add, “Dry Clean for Best Results.” Such a clothing label informs customers that they may wash the clothing without harm, but dry cleaning can be best for texture and longevity.

Clothing compliance authorities:

The U.S. Customs Border Protection (CBP) must initially approve all items available for entry into the U.S. Importers usually tend to pay registered customs brokers to deal with the import of their clothing. That’s because many other authorities have to comply with the product for it to obtain import conformity. Here are the different departments that you need to inquire about:

1. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)- The CPSC investigates all children’s items and checks garments for thermal conductivity and toxic materials.

2. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – EPA checks for pesticides and hazardous chemicals.

3. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – The FTC assesses labels for clothing and advertisements.

4. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – The USDA investigates organic fabric proclamations.

Care labeling rules:

The Care Labeling Law requires imported clothing items in the U.S. to be labeled with the following information:

• Content of fiber
• Place of origin
• Identity of producer
• Instructions for treatment

It’s necessary to make sure that your imported clothes and garments have the correct tags and labels. Another significant note for U.S. fashion imports that we’ll highlight for you: All labels must be English.

The FTC will refuse the merchandise if it finds that the clothing labels are confusing, misbranded, wrong, or falsely advertising. Thereby It’s useful to:

• Label the proportions by weight of the fabrics of garments accurately and precisely.
• Label the product as having rayon directly if it is included in the product.
• Specify the items containing fur on the label and mention the animal’s name and country of origin.
• Tag every piece of clothing with care labels.

Proper label placement:

It’s important to understand where the labels need to be on the merchandise to make sure you receive U.S. import approval. We laid down some guidelines:

• Shirts with a collar must have labels attached to the neck’s inner center in the middle of the shoulder seams. Other garments require labeling on the interior or exterior of the item.
• Bundled hosiery items do not require a sticker on each item of hosiery, only on the packaging.
• Socks must be labeled on the outside of their packaging next to the sock size sticker.
• T-shirts must be marked both on the exterior covering and on the shirts.

After learning how to comply with the Care Labeling Law, partnering with a customs broker is the perfect way to guarantee that your clothing meets all the clearance requirements and import procedure challenges.

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