When is relabeling illegal?
First case would be when it is a product that’s been designed for retail. I don’t think Nike would be too happy if you took one of their trainers and claimed it as your own. As a general rule, if you see it in a shop, you cannot relabel it.
Second case would be when making a knockoff product. It is never OK to relabel a product to make it look like it was produced by another better known brand.
Third scenario would be when the product to be relabeled has a distinct feature such as a pattern or a design. As we mentioned above, it’s only cool to switch the label when we’re dealing with basic items. No crazy pockets, prints or cuts allowed.
Requisites for labels of textile products
When getting rid of a label, you have to make sure you replace it with one that complies with the laws of the territory you’re going to sell the product in. There’s a lot of information out there regarding what information that needs to appear in the label of a textile product — some of it is accurate and some of it not so much.
- Any raw, semi-worked, worked, semi-factures, manufactured, semi-made-up or made-up product which is exclusively composed of textile fibres, regardless of the mixing or assembly process employed” — It also considers a textile product any article which’s weight is at least 80% textile
- All garments must be labelled whenever they hit the market and this label must be “durable, easily legible, visible and accessible”
- It is not necessary for labels to be sewed in or printed directly on the garment; swing tags are completely acceptable, as well as for the information to appear on the product’s package
- Abbreviations are discouraged, but if they’re used then they must be explained in the same label
- It is the importer’s responsibility to make sure the fibres in the garment are properly identified
- When preparing garments to be sold internationally, make sure they comply with the final country’s laws, as they change from territory to territory
- The information on the label must be in the territory’s official language
- Other information such as size and care instructions should be displayed separately from the fibre composition, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be on a different label
