Best Practices for Shoe Labeling

Shoe labeling requirements differ by country where shoes are sold. For countries with no legal requirements or advice for shoe labeling, FDRA has created these best practices you can follow.

• Without specific legal requirements companies can affix labels (stich, sticker, print, etc.) or use hangtags for shoes as they wish. They may be permanent or not.

• Always use legible, easily read print on the label and place the label on the shoe(s) or box, where one could reasonable expect to see it when purchasing shoes.

• If possible, use the country of import’s official language.

• Many countries have laws against product deception, including the U.S. Never label your product as having materials it does not actually have (such as labeling a shoe “genuine leather” when it is in fact man made).

• On the actual label itself, the basic variables of information you should expect to list are:
  1. country of origin (The determination of the country of footwear varies from country to country. However, as a general rule, the country of origin is the place of final assembly. Please note that this rule is not universal, for example, it does not always apply in the US. As a general rule origin marking is required.  To our knowledge, only India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland and the EU (although some member countries require an origin label) do not require an origin label.  Thus, unless you ship only to one of these countries, the best practice is to include an origin label.)
  2. content/materials (i.e. majority of textile, leather, fur, etc. Note: some countries require disclosure of specific materials) Reference FDRA’s U.S. labeling page for fur and leather materials in shoes and click here for FDRA’s E.U. content guide.
  3. size (Note: use country specific sizes such as US, EU, UK, etc., or multiple ones like US/UK)
  4. source (who manufactured the shoe)
  5. shoe company/brand contact information
  6. means of tracking (SKU, UPC, etc.)