New Zealand Clothing and Fabric Labelling: Care, Fiber Content and Country of Origin

Three labels, three sets of rules

New Zealand sets these rules as consumer information standards under the Fair Trading Act 1986, and the Commerce Commission enforces them. Each label has its own regulations, and each adopts a joint Australian and New Zealand standard with amendments.

The rules apply to goods whether they were made in New Zealand or overseas. Second-hand goods are excluded from all three.

The care label

A care label tells the buyer how to clean the item and what to avoid. It must be legible and in English, and it can use internationally recognised symbols alongside the written instructions. Where dry cleaning is specified, the label must carry the dry-cleaning symbol too.

On most clothing the label must be permanent: it has to survive the care treatment it describes and stay readable and attached for the item's useful life. Each item of a set, such as each piece of a suit, should carry one. The label should give general cleaning instructions, any maintenance needed, and warnings against wrong treatment, such as do not tumble dry.

The instructions have to be right for the cloth, which is why they start with the fabric maker. A poly-viscose suiting and a cotton drill need different care. Our guide to uniform fabric care and washing instructions covers what each blend tolerates.

The fiber content label

The fiber content label lists the fibers in the product from the largest amount to the smallest. Percentages are allowed but not required, so both "65% polyester, 35% viscose" and "polyester, viscose" follow the Commerce Commission's examples. The lettering must be at least 1.5 mm high, in English and easy to read.

The label must be permanent and visible when the item is examined. If packaging or folding hides it, the information should also appear on a removable label or on the packaging. Linings and fillings have their own rules in the standard.

This label covers fabrics as well as clothing, so cloth sold by the metre to the public needs fiber content information too. Excluded goods include footwear, belts, hats, handkerchiefs and goods made up from fabric the customer chose or supplied.

Accuracy is the risk. Misleading consumers about fiber content is a separate and more serious offence than a missing label. Our guide to fabric blends compared explains the blends behind the names.

The country of origin label

All new clothing and footwear must carry a label saying where it was made. It must be in English, with no letter smaller than 1.5 mm, and on clothing it must be a permanent label visible when the garment is examined.

Fabric itself is excluded, because the rules treat it as a component part of clothing. So the origin label describes where the garment was made, not where the cloth was woven. A uniform cut and sewn in India from Indian fabric is labelled as made in India. A garment sewn in New Zealand from Indian fabric is labelled for where it was sewn, and a supplier must not describe overseas-made clothing as made in New Zealand.

Do not confuse this label with the origin rules in a trade agreement. The proof of origin that claims a zero duty rate at the border is a customs document, covered in our guide to importing fabric from India into New Zealand. The consumer label is a separate requirement with a different purpose.

Who is responsible

The rules apply to whoever supplies, offers to supply or advertises new textile goods in New Zealand, in a shop, online or at a market. The Commerce Commission is explicit that a supplier cannot assume goods comply just because a manufacturer or wholesaler offered them.

Supplying goods without the required label is an offence under section 28 of the Fair Trading Act, and the Commission can issue an infringement notice or prosecute. Misleading claims about fiber content or country of origin carry much higher maximum fines.

Whether a particular uniform contract, supplied business to business rather than sold to the public, falls inside these standards is a question for your own adviser. Many uniform suppliers label to the standard either way, because garments often reach staff who wash and care for them at home.

What to ask the mill for

• The fiber composition of each quality as a percentage, from the mill's specification, so the garment maker can label from fact rather than from a sales description.
• The care treatment each quality is designed for, including any limit on wash temperature, tumble drying or ironing.
• Test evidence where the composition matters, for example a blend ratio checked by a laboratory. Our guide on how we test our fabric explains what is checked and where.
• Consistency across reorders, so a label printed for the first lot is still true for the fifth.

We supply woven fabric, not finished garments, so the labels themselves are made and sewn in by the garment maker. What we provide is the composition and care information the labels are built from. Dyeing, processing and finishing run through partnered processing houses in Bhilwara, and testing is arranged through them.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What labels does clothing need in New Zealand?

Three. A care label, a fiber content label listing the fibers from most to least, and a country of origin label showing where the garment was made. All must be in English. The fiber and origin labels need lettering at least 1.5 mm high, and on clothing all three are normally permanent labels.

Is fiber content labelling compulsory in New Zealand?

Yes, for most textile goods, under the Consumer Information Standards (Fibre Content Labelling) Regulations 2000, which adopt AS/NZS 2622:1996. It covers clothing and also fabrics, socks, hosiery and carpets. Percentages are optional, but the fibers must be listed from the largest amount to the smallest.

Does fabric need a country of origin label in New Zealand?

No. The country of origin regulations cover new clothing and footwear, and they exclude component parts such as fabric. The label on a garment shows where the garment was made, not where its cloth was woven.

Who is responsible for labelling imported clothing in New Zealand?

The supplier in New Zealand: anyone who supplies, offers to supply or advertises the goods there. The Commerce Commission says a supplier cannot assume goods comply because a manufacturer or wholesaler provided them, so ask the maker for composition and care information and check it.