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Selling clothing and textiles in Japan

In Japan, clothing and household textiles carry a quality label under the Household Goods Quality Labelling Act, showing fibre composition and care symbols. Limits under the Act on Control of Household Products Containing Harmful Substances apply to formaldehyde, azo dyes, flame retardants and organotins. Customs refuses goods with a false or misleading origin.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Labelling
Household Goods Quality Labelling Act (家庭用品品質表示法)
Care symbols
JIS L 0001
Harmful substances
Act on Control of Household Products Containing Harmful Substances (有害物質を含有する家庭用品の規制に関する法律)
Infant textiles
Formaldehyde 16 µg/g or less, up to 24 months
Azo dyes
30 µg/g or less of each listed amine
Who labels imports
A business in Japan

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Is the product a textile good designated for quality labelling? Read more
  2. 2Does the label show fibre composition and JIS L 0001 care symbols? Read more
  3. 3Is it for infants of 24 months or younger, or is it underwear, nightwear, socks or gloves? Read more
  4. 4Is it bedding, curtains, nightwear or floor covering treated with flame retardants? Read more
  5. 5Is the origin shown truthfully? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Quality labelling

What a clothing or textile label shows.

  • Textile goods designated by Cabinet Order show their fibre composition, as percentages, using the designated terms for each fibre.
  • Care is shown with the symbols in JIS L 0001, on a label sewn or printed on and firmly attached.
  • Raincoats and similar goods also show water repellency.
  • The labeller's name and address or phone number are added; for imported goods, a business in Japan, the importer, seller or labelling contractor, becomes the labeller.
  • Leather goods, bags and shoes are covered as miscellaneous goods, with their own labelling matters.

How we help: Compliant Always sets your label beside the labelling matters for its item, and checks the fibre content against the supplier's specification. Ask about this

Harmful substances

Chemical limits for clothing and household textiles.

  • In textiles for infants of 24 months or younger, formaldehyde is limited to an absorbance difference of 0.05 or less, or 16 µg/g or less.
  • In underwear, nightwear, gloves, socks and tabi for others, and in adhesives for wigs and false eyelashes, formaldehyde is limited to 75 µg/g.
  • Textiles and leather made with azo dyes must contain no more than 30 µg/g of each of 24 listed amines.
  • Nightwear, bedding, curtains and floor coverings are limited for flame retardants such as tris(2,3-dibromopropyl) phosphate (8 µg/g).
  • Organotin compounds are limited to 1.0 µg/g as tin in diapers, underwear and similar products.

How we help: Upload a lab report and Compliant Always reads it against the limits for the product type, with the source beside each one. Ask about this

Sale and recalls

What happens to textiles that fail the standards.

  • Manufacturers and importers must understand the effects on health of the substances in their household products and prevent damage to health (Article 3).
  • Household products that do not meet the standards must not be sold or displayed for sale (Article 5).
  • MHLW or the prefecture may order a recall where damage to health is likely (Article 6).

How we help: Compliant Always ties each lab report to the lot it covers, so the scope of a recall can be read from the record. Ask about this

Origin

How customs treats origin marks.

  • Customs does not permit the import of goods that directly or indirectly show a false or misleading origin (Customs Act, Article 71).
  • The importer may erase or correct the mark, or return the goods.
  • Representations that make a product look significantly better than it is are prohibited under the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the supplier's origin evidence with the product, so the mark can be checked against it. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
LabellerThe quality label: a manufacturer, seller or contractor, and for imports a business in Japan.Labels checked against the item's labelling matters.
ImporterMeeting the harmful substance limits and a truthful origin mark.Lab reports read and dated before the goods ship.
ManufacturerFibre content, finishing chemicals and test reports.Specifications and test reports kept with each style.
RetailerNot selling products that fail the standards.Suppliers' documents collected once per style and lot.

National law, prefectural enforcement

Product law in Japan is national. Ministries and the Consumer Affairs Agency set the standards; prefectural governors and cities with public health centres license food businesses, receive food recall notifications and carry out inspections.

Imports are checked at the border: food and food contact articles at MHLW quarantine stations, and liquor licences are granted by the tax office for each place of sale.

Questions businesses ask

What must a clothing label show in Japan?
Fibre composition as percentages using the designated terms, JIS L 0001 care symbols, water repellency where relevant, and the labeller's name and address or phone number.
Which care symbols does Japan use?
The symbols in JIS L 0001, shown on a label sewn or printed on and firmly attached, under the Household Goods Quality Labelling Act.
Who is the labeller for imported clothing?
A business in Japan: the importer, seller or labelling contractor, according to the CAA's handbook on the Household Goods Quality Labelling Act.
What is the formaldehyde limit for baby clothes in Japan?
For textiles for infants of 24 months or younger, an absorbance difference of 0.05 or less, or 16 µg/g or less.
What is the formaldehyde limit for adult underwear?
75 µg/g for underwear, nightwear, gloves, socks and tabi, under the regulation on household products containing harmful substances.
Are azo dyes restricted in Japan?
Yes. Textiles and leather made with azo dyes must contain no more than 30 µg/g of each of 24 listed amines.
Are flame retardants restricted in textiles?
Yes. Nightwear, bedding, curtains and floor coverings are limited for listed flame retardants, such as tris(2,3-dibromopropyl) phosphate at 8 µg/g.
Are shoes and bags labelled?
Leather goods, bags and shoes are covered as miscellaneous goods under the Household Goods Quality Labelling Act, with their own labelling matters.
What if the origin on a garment is wrong?
Customs does not permit the import of goods showing a false or misleading origin. The importer may erase or correct the mark, or return the goods.
How does Compliant Always help with selling in Japan?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in, including the Japanese-language sources. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in Japan and what your paperwork needs to show.

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