As part of a legal dispute between two online retailers, the Higher Regional Court of Hamm had to deal with the question of whether the designation of the textile composition of cycling gloves in the form “Inner glove: 95% merino wool, 5% polyamide” complies with the requirements of the Textile Labeling Ordinance (TextilKennzVO) (OLG Hamm, judgment of 02.08.2018, Ref.: 4 U 18/18).
Regional court prohibits designation
An online retailer had asked its competitor out of court to refrain from such labeling and had already been successful at first instance. The Regional Court of Bochum then prohibited the advertising of the cycling gloves with the designation of the lining material as “merino wool”.
Textile labeling regulation does not recognize “merino wool”
For the description of fiber compositions on labels and markings of textile products, according to Art. 5 para. 1 Textile Labelling Regulation, only the textile fiber names in Annex I may be used. However, only the term “wool” is used there and not the term “merino wool”. The names of some animal species listed there also do not contain a sheep breed that can be mentioned as an addition to “wool”. Therefore, the term “merino wool” may not be used in this context.
OLG confirms decision
The appeal against the decision has now been unsuccessful. The Court of Appeal confirmed the decision on this point without doubting its legality. In particular, it was ” It is irrelevant whether the targeted consumer is familiar with the fine wool sheep breed Merino and therefore understands the term “Merino wool” from the outset as a composite term in which the word element “Merino” merely serves to describe the textile fiber “wool” used in more detail. This is because such explanatory additions are inadmissible under Art. 5, 16 Textile Labeling Regulation, regardless of whether they are misleading or not – and this is not relevant in the context of § 3a UWG anyway.”
The regulation of the Textile Labelling Regulation is intended to ensure that all consumers in the Union receive not only correct but also uniform information.
Check the correct designation of the textile composition
Although the decision may understandably upset some retailers, the correct designation of the textile composition must be meticulously observed when labeling – not only bicycle gloves. This is not the first legal dispute that has been (successfully) brought due to – even marginally – incorrect designations. The associated cost burden is often disproportionate to the effort that a prior check would entail.