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NTA Welcomes New Wool Suit Labeling Requirements, Says They Will Aid Consumers and Protect Honest Manufacturers and Retailers
BOSTON, December 21, 2006 -- Yesterday, President Bush signed into law the Wool Suit Fabric Labeling Fairness and International Standards Conforming Act, which amends the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 by adding definitions of fine and superfine wool and of cashmere.
"Consumers will benefit from these new regulations," said Karl Spilhaus, president of the National Textile Association, "the consumer has come to recognize that the designations 100's or super 100's and so forth on a garment are intended as an indicator of quality; these new regulations apply a clear, scientically-based, and internationally recognized standard to the use of those numbers." Spilhaus, who also speaks for the Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute and the Superfine Wool Council, an international organization of the leading processers of luxury animal fibers, pointed out that the new law brings U.S. labeling requirements into conformity with the international Code of Practice promulgated by the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO). "Honest manufacturers recognize the importance of following the IWTO Code regarding labeling for fineness of wool and the need to protect the cache of the designation "cashmere" by using only genuine cashmere fiber, the new regulations are aimed at the dishonest and unscrupulous manufacturers who attempt to defraud the public with mislabeled products."
For wool products manufactured on or after January 1, 2007, the new regulations will have the force of law in the U.S. as an amendment to the Wool Products Labeling Act, with fines of up to $11,000 per violation. Furthermore, U.S. Customs and Border Protection may hold up shipments at the port if there are violations of the Act.
The new regulations define fine and superfine wools using the international standard of the IWTO (International Wool Textile Organisation) Code of Practice. They also conform the legal definition of cashmere to standard industry practice.
The law states that a wool product shall be misbranded--
`(5) In the case of a wool product stamped, tagged, labeled, or otherwise identified as--
`(A) `Super 80's' or `80's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 19.75 microns or finer;
`(B) `Super 90's' or `90's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 19.25 microns or finer;
`(C) `Super 100's' or `100's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 18.75 microns or finer;
`(D) `Super 110's' or `110's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 18.25 microns or finer;
`(E) `Super 120's' or `120's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 17.75 microns or finer;
`(F) `Super 130's' or `130's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 17.25 microns or finer;
`(G) `Super 140's' or `140's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 16.75 microns or finer;
`(H) `Super 150's' or `150's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 16.25 microns or finer;
`(I) `Super 160's' or `160's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 15.75 microns or finer;
`(J) `Super 170's' or `170's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 15.25 microns or finer;
`(K) `Super 180's' or `180's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 14.75 microns or finer;
`(L) `Super 190's' or `190's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 14.25 microns or finer;
`(M) `Super 200's' or `200's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 13.75 microns or finer;
`(N) `Super 210's' or `210's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 13.25 microns or finer;
`(O) `Super 220's' or `220's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 12.75 microns or finer;
`(P) `Super 230's' or `230's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 12.25 microns or finer;
`(Q) `Super 240's' or `240's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 11.75 microns or finer; and
`(R) `Super 250's' or `250's', if the average diameter of wool fiber of such wool product does not average 11.25 microns or finer.
In each such case, the average fiber diameter of such wool product may be subject to such standards or deviations as adopted by regulation by the Commission.
`(6) In the case of a wool product stamped, tagged, labeled, or otherwise identified as cashmere, if--
`(A) such wool product is not the fine (dehaired) undercoat fibers produced by a cashmere goat (capra hircus laniger);
`(B) the average diameter of the fiber of such wool product exceeds 19 microns; or
`(C) such wool product contains more than 3 percent (by weight) of cashmere fibers with average diameters that exceed 30 microns.
The average fiber diameter may be subject to a coefficient of variation around the mean that shall not exceed 24 percent.'.
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