The Mexican Standard NOM-004-SE-2021, which is set to come into effect from January 15, 2023, will establish all the commercial information required for labelling and is applicable to textile products and items, clothing, accessories and household linens, whose textile composition is equal to or greater than 50 per cent in relation to its mass.
All products within scope that are intended for consumers and are marketed within the territory of the United Mexican States should comply with this new standard, even if they contain plastics or other materials. This new standard supersedes NOM-0040SCFI-2006. On January 14, 2022, Mexico’s ministry of economy published a new standard in their Official Gazette of the Federation, Mexican Standard NOM-004-SE-2021.
Garments, their accessories and household linens must display the following information legibly, on one or more permanent labels placed at the bottom of the neck or waist, or in any other visible place, according to the characteristics of the garment. QR codes may be used on labels. The details required are trademark, description of materials, size, for garments and accessories, or measurements for household linens, care instructions, country of origin and the responsible person for the product.
There are similar but slightly different labeling requirements for other textile products in this new standard. All commercial information required by the standard must be presented in Spanish (notwithstanding that it may also be presented in any other language), be truthful, be described and presented in such a way that it does not mislead with respect to the nature and characteristics of the product, SGS said on its website.
When the product is marketed in closed packaging that does not allow the content to be seen, the packaging must indicate the name of the product and the quantity of products contained. When garments are marketed as pairs made of the same material, the label may be present on only one of the items.
In the description of materials, the generic fibre names must be used in accordance with Mexican Standards NMX-A-2076-INNTEX-2013 and NMX-A-6938-INNTEX-2013. Any use of abbreviations or names other than those indicated in the standards is not acceptable. Any fibre present in a percentage of less than 5 per cent of the total may be designated as “others” or “other fibres.” When recovered or recycled fibres, or mixtures of these with other virgin fibres are used, the percentages and generic names of each of the fibers must be indicated by stating “recovered” or “recycled” before the generic fibre name.