Country of Origin Markings for Apparel, Footwear, and Fashion Accessories
Customs Issues   Care Labeling  COO

Every article of foreign origin entering the United States must be legibly marked with the English name of the country of origin unless an exception from marking is provided for in the law.

Country of Origin Markings for shipping to the United States

Prior to importing your goods into the United States, you should ensure the overseas supplier has marked the goods with the country of origin.  The marking must be legible and permanent enough for the ultimate purchaser to be made aware of the goods origin.

Below is “some” information that would be helpful to fashion industry companies that are importing clothing, accessories, and footwear into the USA.  You should also consult directly with a apparel industry customs broker or the appropriate government agency to learn the most current requirements.

§134.11   Country of origin marking required.

Unless excepted by law, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), requires that every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit, in such manner as to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article, at the time of importation into the Customs territory of the United States. Containers of articles excepted from marking shall be marked with the name of the country of origin of the article unless the container is also excepted from marking.

19 CFR 134.46 requires the name of the country of origin of a good to be preceded by “made in,” “product of” or similar words if words or letters referencing a location other than the country of origin (e.g., “United States” or “American”) appear on an imported article or its container and may mislead the consumer as to the actual country of origin. 19 CFR 134.47, on the other hand, states that when “United States,” “America” or the name of a U.S. location appears as part of a trademark or trade name, the associated good must be legibly, conspicuously and permanently marked to indicate the name of the country of origin of the article, preceded by “made in,” “product of” or similar words in close proximity or some other conspicuous location.

Note: the information on this page was retrieved from various government websites in March 2015.  Please consult with the appropriate agency for the most current information and requirements.  Information is subject to change without prior notice.  The information on this page may be outdated and incomplete.

The following links may be of assistance to you:

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/rulings/informed-compliance-publications/marking-country-origin-us-imports

https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5&node=19:1.0.1.1.28

https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub2975.pdf

Learn more about country of origin markings.

If you know of additional information or resources that will help educated the apparel industry in regard to country of origin labeling, please let us know.

You may want to learn about wash care labeling issues.

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