SECTION 205.4. Labeling Requirements

(a) It shall be unlawful to make any false or misleading statement on any label or tag required by the Act and these regulations; it shall be unlawful for any person to remove, deface, alter, or position any label or tag or statement thereon for the purpose of defeating the provisions of the Act and these regulations, except that the label or tag may be removed by the consumer.

(b) All labels, tags, or markings required by the Act and these regulations shall be attached by the permitted manufacturer or renovator at the factory or at the location where germicidal treatment is performed.

(c) Labels and tags shall be printed on substantial cloth or a material of equal quality. Material shall be resistant to tear and have prior departmental approval.

(d) Information required on the label shall be printed, typed, or stamped in ink. Printing shall be legible and be resistant to smudging and smearing. Print size shall be of the height specified.

(e) Required printed matter on the label shall not be concealed, in whole or in part, by any other label, tag or printed matter not required by the Act.

(f) No printed matter shall appear on the back side of the label. No advertisements, insignias, or endorsements shall appear on the label.

(g) The terms used on the label to describe materials used in filling shall be restricted to those defined in these regulations or specifically approved by the department. Only generic terms shall be used; trade names, trademarks or registered terms shall not be used in describing filling material. No information or wording other than descriptions of filling material shall appear in the statement of content section.

(h) Any chemical treatment applied to the filling materials shall be described in the statement of contents section. e.g. "blended cotton felt--boric acid treated".

(i) It is permitted, as the last item on the label, to include the name of the manufacturer, importer, distributor and/or retailer, bar code, size, weight, country of origin, any federal/state requirements relating to flammability or fiber identification information, and other information approved by the department.

(j) The information presented on the label shall be in English and the label shall be clearly visible at all times. Other languages may be used in addition to English, but shall be presented on separate labels.

(k) Labels shall be affixed to the outer covering of bedding articles and shall be so located as to make the label and the information thereon completely and clearly visible to the purchaser at all times. Germicidal treatment label attachment methods shall have prior approval by the department. Specific locations for label attachments shall be as follows:

(1) Mattresses, box springs, pillows, pads, sleeping bags, and most infant bedding articles shall have the label attached on the end/side border or top panel and in proximity of any advertising labels, company logos, streamers, or any other labels not required by the Act. In the absence of any private labels, the law label shall be attached at the location most likely to be prominently displayed to the purchaser.

(2) Articles such as quilted bedspreads, mattress protectors, quilts, etc., packaged in clear or see through packaging material shall be folded in such a manner so that the label and printed matter thereon is visible to the purchaser.

(3) Articles of bedding packaged in concealed packaging shall have a label affixed to both the article and an exact duplicate label attached to the outside of the package.

(4) Processed filling material identification tag location is optional except that it shall be securely attached where clearly visible.

(5) Reclining chairs shall have the label attached to the underside of the foot rest in such a way as to allow the label to be unfolded for easy access. Chairs with detachable cushions may have the label attached to the front part of the platform under the cushion.

(6) Upholstered furniture articles with detachable cushions (e.g., sleeper sofas, sofa beds, chair beds) shall have the label attached to the front part of the platform under the cushions. Upholstered furniture articles without detachable cushions shall have the label attached to the front part of the article in such a way as to make it accessible and visible.

(7) Attaching the label to the dust cover or bottom of large articles, to the back side of railings or support braces, to the outside back, or in any other location which is not easily accessible to the purchaser, is prohibited.

(8) Attaching the label in a location or manner which, while the article of bedding is on display for sale, conceals the label from open view to the purchaser shall be considered as a willful act to intentionally defeat the intent of the Act and these regulations.

(l) The different types of required labels and illustrations of each are as follows:

(1) The label attached to bedding wholly manufactured from new materials shall have a minimum size of six square inches and state, plainly stamped or printed in black ink on all white material:

(A) "ALL NEW MATERIAL" in capital letters at least one-eighth inch high;

(B) the kind and grade of each material used in the filling and, if more than one kind or grade of material is used, the percentage, in descending order, by weight of each material;

(C) the manufacturer's permit identification number assigned by the department; and

(D) shall be in the following form:

Attached Graphic

(2) The label attached to bedding any part of which is manufactured or renovated from secondhand or recycled material, other than bedding reworked, repaired, or renovated for the owner for the owner's own use, shall be at least 12 square inches and state, plainly stamped or printed in red ink on all white material:

(A) "SECONDHAND MATERIAL" or "RECYCLED MATERIAL" in capital letters at least one-fourth inch high;

(B) the manufacturer's or renovator's permit identification number assigned by the department; and

(C) shall be in the following form:

Attached Graphic

(3) The label attached to material or bedding that has been germicidally treated shall be at least 12 square inches and state, plainly stamped or printed in black ink on all yellow material:

(A) "SECONDHAND (USED) ARTICLE--SANITIZED" in capital letters at least one-fourth inch high;

(B) that the article or material has been germicidally treated by a method approved by the department;

(C) the method of germicidal treatment applied;

(D) the date the article was germicidally treated;

(E) the name and address of the person for whom the article was germicidally treated;

(F) the permit identification number of the person applying the germicidal treatment assigned by the department; and

(G) shall be in the following form:

Attached Graphic

(4) The processed filling material label is an identification label. The type and material of this label is optional. However, the label shall be visible, the printed matter shall be legible, generic terms shall be used as the descriptive terminology and the processor's identification number assigned by the department shall be stated. Illustrations of a form for this label follow:

Attached Graphic

Source Note: The provisions of this §205.4 adopted to be effective October 16, 1986, 11 TexReg 4156; amended to be effective October 3, 1999, 24 TexReg 8181