use of trademarked clothing in home business. remove manufaturer's
label and add my own?

Hi lillyamc,

Briefly, you may remove the old label and replace it with your
trademark label *if* your new label includes:

- Fiber Content
- Country of Origin
- Your legal company identity (trademark is ok if that is the name
under which the company is doing business)

Keep records for three years of:

- information on the removed label  
- the company from which you received the product

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION - FACTS FOR BUSINESSES:
Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements Under the Textile
and Wool Acts:

Identification Of Manufacturer, Importer, Or Other Dealer:
"In addition to identifying fiber content and country of origin,
textile labels must identify either the company name or Registered
Identification Number (RN) of the manufacturer, importer, or another
firm marketing, distributing, or otherwise handling the product. An RN
is a number issued and registered by the FTC and may be issued to any
firm in the U.S. that manufactures, imports, markets, distributes, or
otherwise handles textile, wool, or fur products. RNs are not issued
to businesses outside of the U.S. You may use an RN instead of a name
to satisfy the labeling requirement."

If you use a company name:
"The name must be the full name under which the company is doing
business. It cannot be a trademark, trade name, brand, label, or
designer name?unless that name is also the name under which the
company is doing business."

Replacing another company's label with your own:
"An importer, distributor, or retailer may want to replace the
original label on a textile product with a label showing its company
or RN. This is perfectly legal as long as the new label lists the name
or RN of the person or company making the change.
NOTE: If you remove a label containing required information, the label
you substitute also must contain that required information. Otherwise,
you?ve violated the Textile Act."

SPECIAL CAUTION TO RETAILERS:
"Some retailers, such as bridal salons, remove labels with required
information from the garments they offer for sale without replacing
them. This is illegal under the Textile Act. If a retailer removes any
label containing required information, it must substitute another
label with its own name or RN and any other required information that
appeared on the original label. In addition, anyone substituting a
label must keep records, for three years, showing the information on
the removed label and the company from which the product was
received."
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/thread.htm

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions before
closing/rating my answer and I'll be happy to reply.

Thank you,
hummer

Search Strategy: the Federal Trade Commission website

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Request for Answer Clarification by lillyamc-ga on 08 Jul 2004 06:39 PDT

Is it then possible to leave all the original manufacturer's labeling
intact (with their company name and required info such and
content/origin) and then add my own label in a different location
(with my company name only)?  My company will be modifying
(coloring/embellishing)the product. Is this legal as well?

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Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 08 Jul 2004 07:30 PDT

Hi lillyamc,

Sure, you can keep the original label on the product and add your own
label to the garment for resale (e.g., a tag on a string attached to a
button), but first check to see if your trimmings are excluded from
the fiber content labeling requirements.

Trimmings
"Various forms of trim incorporated into clothing and other textiles
are excluded from the labeling requirements.16 Trim includes: collars,
cuffs, braiding, waist or wrist bands, rick-rack, tape, belting,
binding, labels, leg bands, gussets, gores, welts, findings,* and
superimposed hosiery garters..."
Also excluded from labeling requirements are:
* decorative trim applied by embroidery, overlay, applique, or attachment, and
* decorative patterns or designs that are an integral part of the fabric.
If decorative trim or designs exceed 15 percent of the surface area of
the product and are made of a different fiber from the base fabric,
the fiber of the decoration must be disclosed on the label as a
sectional disclosure (see Sectional disclosure of fiber content for
more information). If the decorative trim does not exceed 15 percent
but information about its content is referenced somewhere, the fiber
of the decoration also must appear on the label."
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/thread.htm#Trimmings

If you keep the original label on the garment, check to make sure it
complies with the law (don't take it for granted). See the section -

Mechanics Of Labeling:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/thread.htm#Mechanics%20Of%20Labeling

Regards,
hummer

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Clarification of Answer by hummer-ga on 08 Jul 2004 17:59 PDT

Dear lillyamc,

It was nice to return home tonight and find your nice note, rating and
tip - thank you. Good luck with your business! Sincerely, hummer

I was thrilled with both the speed and the thoroughness of the
response.  And my clarification question was answered as well.  Great
job!