Government proposes a new law on clothing and shoe labelling to satisfy EU rules

The EU already requires that footwear and textile products clearly indicate what material the item is made of.  The Government now proposes to Parliament legislation based on the EU Market Surveillance Regulation, which would specify companies’ obligations related to labelling of materials. The proposed law also enables the imposition of penalty payments for incorrect or deficient labelling. 

On 28 October 2021, the Government proposed a new Act on labelling of production material in footwear and textile products. In addition to the required labelling, the new law includes a proposal for a penalty payment. According to the proposal, the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency Tukes could impose a penalty payment for deficient or incorrect labelling of footwear and textile products. The EU Market Surveillance Regulation requires that Member States enact sanctions nationally.

Manufacturers, importers and marketers of footwear and textiles sold in the EU must ensure that all products bear a label indicating the material the product is made of. In Finland, the labels must be in both Finnish and Swedish. Requiring labels of materials is not new, but penalty payments due to incorrect or deficient labels have not been possible before. 

A key objective of the reform is to improve consumer protection. It is due to come into effect as of the beginning of 2022. The government proposal is part of a more extensive implementation of the Market Surveillance Regulation, the proposal on which was submitted to Parliament on 23 September 2021.

Inquiries:
Sari Alho, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 049 007