On May 7 2008, the South African Government issued a notice to say as from the 15 April the country of origin labelling in terms of the Merchandise Act 17 of 1941 will now be enforced. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the South African Revenue Services (SARS) will "randomly detain consignments to conduct inspections." According to the notice, "goods that do not comply with the country of origin labeling will be sized" and companies or individuals responsible for contriving the law can be fined R5000.00 an article or face imprisonment of three years, or both.[1]

The promulgation of the notice on country of origin labelling came into effect a year ago. This window period was used for educating the textiles, garments and footwear industries allowing them time to learn, adapt and comply with the regulations. All merchandise imported as well as local made merchandise that fall under the Act have to have a label indicating the country of origin, if imported textiles were used, the fibre content and care instructions. An extension of the Act prohibits retailers from claiming that merchandise is "Made in South Africa" if the merchandise is "reconditioned, rebuilt or remade within South Africa. If merchandise has undergone any restructuring label information to this effect must be applied to the merchandise. In short, my interpretation of the Act reflects that only merchandise that has been wholly assembled (manufactured) in South Africa can have the "Made in South Africa" label. The Act stipulates that all such information on the labelling must be in clear eligible English.

The Minster of Trade and Industry, Mr. Mandisi Mpahlwa, signed the Act when an investigation by the DTI indicated that some retailers were passing off locally made clothing as imports or providing misleading labels that reflected that the products were made in South Africa.

The Department of Trade and Industry has supplied contact details for consumers to report any contraventions.[2]Such initiatives by the DTI are commendable but I have tried by email and telephone to get hold of the contact person and three days later, I am still waiting for a reply. It is no use enacting such opportunities for consumer activism if the DTI is not capacitated to handle enquiries or responses from South African consumers.

I emailed numerous other people in the DTI and telephoned them as I have questions relating to the Act. I waited for over five minutes for someone to answer the call and then was told to phone a number, which just rang. I was copied into an email message from one DTI official who simply forwarded my list of questions to another DTI employee and I am still waiting for a response. This inefficiency is inexcusable. Some of the questions I have are obvious but clarification is vital so that the any ambiguity or misunderstanding of the Act can be displaced. The following is the list of questions I sent to the DTI.

1)    Individuals who sell imported or homemade clothing at craft markets do they also have comply with the regulations? I ask this because I am always looking at the labels of apparel sellers at these markets and note that most of the clothing have only a brand name or no label at all.

2)    There are many privately owned boutiques that retail only imported apparel and I know from my own investigations that many of the merchandise sold at these boutiques do not comply fully with the regulations even after a year's grace. Are they subjected to the regulations of the Act?

3)    Do South African designers need to comply with the regulations and can they only place the "Made in South Africa" label if the entire garment was constructed in South Africa? Does the reconditioning, rebuilding or remaking of apparel mitigate them from having a "Made in South Africa" label?

4)    Factory shops that sell over-runs or rejects do they have to comply fully with the Act? I recently looked at one of these outlets in Durban and noted that some of the apparel has labels while others do not.

5)    What information must be supplied if consumers wish to inform the DTI about infringements of the Act?