SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, is advising stakeholders that Mexico has updated its labeling requirements for textiles, clothing, accessories and household linen.
The Ministry of Economy published new Mexican Standard NOM-004-SE-2021 on January 14, 2022. This establishes the commercial information required for labeling textile products, clothing, accessories and household linens that have a textile composition that is equal or greater than 50% in relation to mass.
The standard supersedes NOM-0040SCFI-2006 and comes into effect on January 15, 2023. After this date, all products within scope and intended for the consumer market in Mexico must comply with the standard. The requirements are slightly different depending on the product in scope.
Garments, accessories and household linens – the following information must be legibly displayed on one or more permanent labels:
- Trademark
- Description of materials (percentage by mass in order of predominance, in accordance with the provisions of Mexican Standards NMX-A-2076-INNTEX-2013 and NMX-A-6938-INNTEX-2013). Normative references must be with Arabic numerals from 1 to 100
- Size, for garments and accessories, or measurements for household linens
- Care instructions
- Country of origin
- Responsible person for the product (must be presented on any of the permanent or temporary labels or on its closed packaging):
- For locally produced products – manufacturer’s name, business address and RFC
- For imported products – importer’s name, business address and RFC
The label(s) must be placed at the base of the neck/waist or in any visible place. It should be noted QR codes can be used as labels.
Additional provisions include:
- Information must be in Spanish, truthful and not misleading
- Products in closed packaging must indicate the name and quantity of the product – for pairs made from the same material the label can be present on only one
- Generic fiber names for material descriptions must conform to Mexican Standards NMX-A-2076-INNTEX-2013 and NMX-A-6938-INNTEX-2013. Alternate abbreviations are not allowed and any fiber present in a percentage of less than 5% of the total may be designated as ‘others’ or ‘other fibers’
- Recovered or recycled fibers, or mixtures of these with other virgin fibers – the percentages and generic names of each of the fibers must be indicated by stating ‘recovered’ or ‘recycled’ before the generic fiber name
- Products manufactured in one country using materials from other countries – ‘Made in … (manufacturing country) with imported inputs’ must be used. The country of origin of the inputs can be added voluntarily
- Abbreviations can be used in upper or lower case – e.g., USA, EU, GBR
Stakeholders are advised to ensure their products conform to the new requirements before January 15, 2023.
SGS Softlines Services
SGS has a worldwide network of over 40 state-of-the-art laboratories, including ten in China, specializing in testing of apparel, footwear, and home textiles. Their committed team is drawn from multi-disciplinary backgrounds, allowing them to conduct a comprehensive range of physical, chemical, and functional testing services for components, materials and finished products. SGS helps companies ensure quality, performance, and compliance with international, industrial, and regulatory standards worldwide. In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested. Learn more about SGS’s Softlines Services.
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For further information contact:
Louann Spirito
Consumer and Retail — Softlines
US & Canada Softlines Business Head
Tel: +1 973 461 7919
Email: cp.media@sgs.com
Website: www.sgs.com/softlines
LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail
About SGS
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