EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Consumer Protection Notice No. 25 of 2010
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs
Trade Practices Act 1974
Consumer Product Information Standard - Care Labelling for
Clothing and Textile Products
Subsection 65E (1) of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (the Act) provides that the Minister may, by notice in writing, declare that in respect of goods of a kind specified in the notice, a particular standard, or a particular part of a standard, prepared or approved by Standards Australia, with additions or variations specified in the notice is a consumer product information standard for the purposes of section 65D.
Paragraph 65D (1) of the Act provides that a corporation shall not, in trade or commerce, supply goods that are intended to be used, or are of a kind likely to be used, by a consumer, if the goods are of a kind in respect of which there is a consumer product information standard and they do not comply with the standard.
This instrument (Consumer Protection Notice 25 of 2010) revokes the previous Consumer Product Information Standard for Care Labelling for Clothing and Textile Products (Consumer Protection Notice No. 16 of 2003) and declares the Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1957:1998 Textiles - Care labelling, as varied, to be a Consumer Product Information Standard for the purposes of section 65D from 1 June 2010.
The purpose of the information standard is to avoid damage to clothing and textiles caused through inappropriate treatments, to maximise the useful life of clothing and textiles, to enable consumers to be fully informed about the potential maintenance costs of textile products at the point of purchase and to inform dry cleaners and launderers of appropriate cleaning methods to be applied to the garments.
The Australian/New Zealand standard specifies laundering, maintenance and dry cleaning instructions for specified clothing and textiles and the manner they are to be provided.
The Consumer Product Information Standard adopts only those parts of the Australian/New Zealand Standard considered necessary to enable adequate and appropriate care labelling for a specified range of goods. It excludes all second hand goods and a range of goods where it is not considered necessary that care instructions are required to properly maintain them.
A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) for this Consumer Product Information Standard is at Attachment 1. The RIS identifies regulatory and consumer protection issues and considers the options for addressing those issues. A case is presented for retaining the mandatory information standard for care labelling.
A draft RIS was circulated for consideration by interested parties including suppliers of clothing and textile products, state and territory fair trading/consumer affairs agencies, consumer groups and industry associations. Comment received supported the maintenance of a mandatory standard. Consultation proceedings are reported in the RIS.
The Consumer Product Information Standard is a legal instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
The Consumer Product Information Standard commences on 26 July 2010.