Stuffed Article Inspection Guide (Part 3) — Law Label Design Violations

If you’ve already read Part 1 and Part 2 of our Stuffed Article Inspection Guide, you are on your way to keeping your stuffed articles fully compliant in the United States. But there are a few finer points of inspections that can trip up even the most vigilant manufacturers and importers.

Law label errors can slip under your radar — but they never go undetected by inspectors. Here in Part 3 of our guide, we will explore the common law label mistakes that can cause an inspector to hold your product in violation.

What are Law Label Design Violations?

Law labels are intended to inform the consumer about the materials that were used in the making of a stuffed article, and to hold manufacturers and importers accountable if their product faces a recall or another violation.

Every aspect of a compliant law label is dictated by IABFLO, the governing body for law labels in the United States. When inspectors review your law label, there are several points they inspect to ensure that your label was designed to be IABFLO-compliant.

Inspection Point #1: Law Label Material and Attachment

Law labels cannot be printed on regular printer paper. As a first point of order, the inspector will ensure that the law label is printed on a material that is durable, non-tearable, and does not flake or abrade. 

The law label must also be securely attached to the article and sewn when possible. These requirements, both durability of the material and attachment of the label, ensure that the law label reaches the end customer. 

If you need assistance with printing your law labels on a material that is guaranteed to meet durability requirements, contact our printing partners at American Law Label Inc. for a free quote.

Inspection Point #2: Law Label Size

Aside from the proper material and attachment, an inspector will also ensure that a law label meets the physical dimension requirements set by IABFLO. 

Law labels must be no smaller than 2 inches by 3 inches, but they can be bigger depending on the size and type of product.

Inspection Point #3: Verbiage

Every single word that appears on a law label is dictated by strict federal regulations. Some of the information is mandatory, while some of it is optional depending on the type of product in question.

In general, the language on a law label is meant to inform the consumer about the filling materials present in the product. It is also intended to present information about the company or companies that brought the product to market, and allows inspectors to tie the product back to those companies in case of a failed inspection.

Inspection Point #4: Font Size

Even if all of the verbiage on your law label is correct, it may still be found in violation if the font sizes don’t comply with federal standards. The minimum font size for certain text on the label is ⅛ inch, but it’s best to trust a compliance partner like GRS to worry about proper sizing in your law label design.

It may seem like a minor infraction, but in GRS’ many years in the stuffed article compliance industry we have seen companies receive hundreds of dollars in violations for having the incorrect font size. 

Get Peace of Mind About Your Law Label

You could keep your fingers crossed that the inspector doesn’t find any violations with your law label design — or you could rest easy knowing that your law label is fully compliant. 

Get a law label audit from GRS and we’ll correct any issues with your law label before they’re found by regulatory inspectors.