Changes to care labelling for clothing
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has published a proposal to amend regulations for care labelling for clothing and textiles.
The ACCC’s proposal would allow suppliers the option to provide this information through internationally recognised symbols or written words by complying with the relevant parts of either of the following voluntary standards: Australian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS 1957:1998 Textiles – Care labelling) International Standard (ISO 3758-2012 Textiles – Care labelling code using symbols).
Currently, the information standard requires care instructions for washing, bleaching, drying, and ironing to be written in English and to be attached to applicable clothing and textiles. The planned change would reduce technical barriers to trade by allowing compliance with the international standard ISO 3758-2012, which specifies how care labelling information can be provided through the use of internationally recognized symbols.
The ACCC has released a consultation paper on the 16th of May 2019 and stakeholders have provided support for the aforementioned changes. The current mandatory standard on care labelling for clothing and textiles, including a list of affected products, can be accessed here.
The changes, including the described reduction of regulatory burden on the industry, are anticipated to be approved by the government in late 2021 or early 2022.