Legal Requirements for Selling Underwear in the USA (FTC Rules)

What Are the Legal Requirements for Selling Underwear in the USA?

Selling underwear in the United States involves more than adding a country-of-origin line to a label. A brand may need to address FTC textile and care-labeling rules, CPSC product-safety requirements, customs marking, and the claims used on product pages or packaging. Which rules apply depends on the product: adult or children’s underwear, ordinary underwear or sleepwear, the materials and components used, and the claims made to customers.

For most underwear, the compliance review starts with three separate questions: Is the textile and care labeling correct? Does the product meet the safety rules that apply to its classification? Are the marketing and certification claims accurate and supported? No single certificate answers all three.

This distinction matters during product development. The label artwork, fabric composition, target age group, intended use, test plan, and sales claims should be reviewed before bulk production. A private-label buyer developing a men’s underwear collection should give the factory a confirmed label file and compliance brief rather than expect the factory to decide the brand’s US legal obligations.

The guide below explains the main federal requirements at a practical level. State laws, marketplace policies, retailer standards, and product-specific facts may add further obligations.

For the wider product-development context, the Men’s Underwear Manufacturing Guide connects compliance decisions with specifications, fabric, sampling, MOQ, production, quality control, packaging and shipping.

Disclaimer: This article provides general educational information and is not legal advice. Requirements can change, and their application depends on the product. Confirm the current rules with the relevant US agency and, when needed, a qualified attorney, customs broker, or testing laboratory.

What Must Your Underwear Labels Actually Say?

Most underwear is covered by the FTC’s Textile Fiber Products Identification Act and Textile Rules. The core textile disclosures are fiber content, country of origin, and the identity of the manufacturer or another business responsible for marketing or handling the product.¹ Clothing care instructions come from a separate FTC rule, the Care Labeling Rule.²

The practical mistake is treating every statement as one label rule. Fiber content, origin, business identity, and care instructions must each be checked against the rule that governs it.

Fiber content should use the permitted generic fiber names and list percentages by weight in descending order. Fibers below 5% are generally disclosed as “other fiber” or “other fibers,” but the FTC provides exceptions, including fibers with a functional significance at that amount. Spandex used for elasticity is a common underwear example. The rule also contains specific treatment for trim, elastic, ornamentation, and separate sections, so a fabric specification should be reviewed before the final label is approved.¹

Country of origin must identify where the imported product was processed or manufactured, as determined under US customs rules. For a garment made in China, “Made in China” is the usual disclosure. Placement, attachment, visibility, packaging, and any applicable exception should be checked for the particular product instead of assuming that an outer carton mark is enough for the consumer garment.¹³

For business identity, the textile label generally uses the company name or a Registered Identification Number (RN). An RN is optional. Foreign businesses cannot obtain one, but a US importer, distributor, or retailer may use its RN where the rules permit. The original statement that every textile label must show a manufacturer or importer address is too broad; the FTC’s textile disclosure is based on the company name or RN.¹

The Care Labeling Rule requires manufacturers and importers of covered garments to attach care instructions supported by a reasonable basis. A washing instruction normally addresses the washing and drying method. Ironing information is needed when regular ironing would harm the product, bleach wording is required in specified circumstances, and warnings are needed when a reasonably expected procedure would damage the garment. A dry-cleaning instruction may be used when it is appropriate and supported. The rule does not require brands to fill five headings mechanically when some instructions are unnecessary.²

Product certifications serve a different purpose. For example, OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 relates to testing textiles for harmful substances within the scope of a valid certificate; it does not replace FTC labeling or CPSC certification. A brand should verify the certificate holder, certified article, scope, and validity before making a claim. Our OEKO-TEX compliance guide for intimate apparel explains that distinction in more detail.

How Do CPSC Rules Apply to Your Underwear Products?

The Consumer Product Safety Commission administers product-safety requirements that are separate from FTC labeling. The first step is accurate classification: adult underwear, children’s underwear, and children’s sleepwear may not follow the same testing and certification path.

Most wearing apparel is subject to the Standard for the Flammability of Clothing Textiles in 16 CFR Part 1610, but the standard includes exemptions and testing provisions. The required evidence and certificate depend on the product, material, age group, and applicable rule.⁴

For adult apparel, the responsible US manufacturer or importer should determine whether the product is subject to a CPSC rule, whether an exemption applies, and whether a General Certificate of Conformity is required. CPSC guidance explains that adult wearing apparel exempt from testing under 16 CFR Part 1610 does not require a GCC for that standard.⁵ This is why “all adult underwear needs the same flammability certificate” is not a reliable buying rule.⁴

A children’s product is a consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger. CPSC considers factors such as the manufacturer’s stated intended use, packaging and advertising, consumer recognition, and age-determination guidance; it is not decided by one label line alone.⁶ When a children’s product is subject to an applicable children’s product safety rule, certification generally relies on third-party testing by a CPSC-accepted laboratory and a Children’s Product Certificate supplied by the responsible manufacturer or importer.⁷

Lead and phthalate requirements also need product-specific analysis. Lead rules can apply to children’s products and accessible components, subject to the applicable exclusions and determinations. Federal phthalate limits are directed at children’s toys and child care articles, rather than every children’s garment automatically. CPSC defines a child care article as a product intended to facilitate sleeping or feeding, or to help with sucking or teething, for children age three and younger. That may bring certain young children’s sleepwear or related products into scope, depending on their design and components.⁸

Children’s sleepwear is a separate category governed by specific flammability standards for sizes 0–6X and 7–14. Infant garments and tight-fitting garments may qualify for defined exclusions only when they meet the rule’s sizing, labeling, and other conditions. Ordinary underwear should not be described as sleepwear unless that is its intended use and classification.⁴⁹

Material certificates can help build the technical file, but they are not substitutes for the certificate required by a US product-safety rule. During sampling and prototyping, the buyer should freeze the intended age group, use, materials, prints, trims, and label details early enough to define the correct test plan.

Are Your "Made in USA" and Eco Claims Actually Legal?

Marketing language is also regulated. A product may have correct sewn-in labels and still create risk through its website copy, packaging, hangtags, advertisements, reviews, or social-media posts.

An unqualified “Made in USA” claim generally requires the product to be “all or virtually all” made in the United States. Environmental and certification claims should describe a specific, supportable fact without creating a broader misleading impression.¹¹¹²

If underwear is manufactured in China, it should not carry an unqualified “Made in USA” claim. A statement such as “Designed in USA” may be used only when it is truthful and the complete presentation does not mislead consumers about where manufacturing occurred. The FTC evaluates the overall impression, including words, images, context, and implied claims.¹¹

Broad environmental claims such as “green” or “eco-friendly” are difficult to substantiate because consumers may interpret them in several ways. The FTC’s Green Guides advise marketers to qualify general environmental-benefit claims with clear, specific language and reliable evidence. Terms such as “sustainable,” “natural,” or “organic” should also be reviewed in context and under any other rule or standard that applies; a familiar word does not prove a defined environmental benefit.¹²

Certification claims need the same discipline. A statement should identify what is certified and remain within the certificate’s scope. If only a nominated fabric from a particular supplier is covered, the brand should not imply that every material, finished garment, factory, or future order carries the same certification. Keep the current certificate and transaction-specific supporting records with the product file.

Endorsements and reviews must also be truthful. If an influencer, reviewer, or affiliate has a material connection to the brand, the connection should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. Brands should not buy, suppress, or selectively present reviews in a way that creates a misleading picture of customer experience.¹³

What Happens If You Get Any of This Wrong?

The consequence depends on which requirement failed, who is reviewing the product, and whether the issue can be corrected. A retailer’s onboarding rejection is different from a customs marking issue, an FTC labeling or advertising matter, or a CPSC safety and reporting problem.

Possible outcomes include a request for documents, delayed entry, relabeling, marketplace or retailer rejection, corrective action, recall, or agency enforcement. They are possibilities, not automatic results of every error.

Retailers and marketplaces often request documents beyond the federal minimum. Their commercial policies can change by category, age group, destination, and seller status. A product may satisfy a federal requirement but still fail a particular channel’s onboarding checklist.

US Customs and Border Protection reviews origin marking and other import requirements at entry. Missing, inconspicuous, or incorrect origin marking can lead to questions, corrective marking, delay, or other action under customs law. Consumer-facing textile disclosures and import-entry documentation should therefore be reviewed together, although they are not the same document.³

FTC concerns may involve fiber labeling, care labels, origin or Made in USA representations, environmental claims, endorsements, or other deceptive advertising. CPSC issues may require testing records, certificates, reporting, corrective action, or a recall when an applicable rule or product hazard is involved. Importers and private-label brands should understand that a supplier document does not automatically transfer or eliminate their US responsibilities.

The most efficient control is a pre-production compliance pack: final product classification, destination market, fiber composition, label artwork, care rationale, test plan, certificate responsibility, supporting reports, packaging claims, and retailer requirements. This also reduces the supply-chain delays described in our guide to DTC underwear brand supply-chain problems.

Conclusion

US underwear compliance is a layered process. FTC textile disclosures, FTC care labeling, CBP origin requirements, CPSC product-safety rules, and marketing claims must be reviewed separately and then brought together in one product file.

Start with the product’s intended user and use, confirm the final materials and construction, and decide who is responsible for testing and US certification. Approve the label and claim language before bulk production. If you are preparing a private-label underwear project, contact BSTAR with your product brief, target market, age group, materials, label artwork, and requested documents so the manufacturing requirements can be reviewed before sampling or production.