Because of the importance of the SI (metric system) as an international standard, its use in product design, manufacturing, marketing, and labeling is essential for U.S. industry's success in the global marketplace.

• Packaging and Labeling Resources

• EU Metric Directive

• Writing in Metric Units
  

• International Paper Sizes

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Packaging and Labeling Resources

The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA) and other Federal laws and regulations govern the labeling requirements for most consumer products; however, many products fall only under state laws.

Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA)

The FPLA relates only to the net quantity of contents information on packages, goods, or commodities that are sold on the basis of weight or measure (i.e., it does not apply to such products as electronic or industrial equipment that have contents sold by the quantity of their contents and appliances).

Labeling requirements for packaged goods are applied to packages based on who will be the ultimate consumer. There are two classifications of products: one class is “consumer” packages that are intended for sale in retail stores, such as food or department stores. The other class is “non-consumer” packages that are intended for sale in wholesale trade, such as by a manufacturer who packages 25 kilogram bags of chemicals for sale to another manufacturer for use in producing another product. The FPLA requirements are not applicable to all packaged goods.

The FPLA was amended in 1992 to require that metric units be displayed on packages to familiarize consumers with metric units so that they could learn to equate familiar quantities to the metric units of measure. Some manufacturers have included metric units on package labels for more than 30 years. The metric units have proven informative and have helped consumers learn to relate metric quantities to the equivalent inch-pound quantities.

Proposal to Amend the FPLA for Permissible Metric Labeling

• 2007 Forum Report: Permissible Metric-Only Labeling (Nov. 2007) Word | PDF

Proposed FPLA amendments would give packagers greater flexibility to provide labeling information that meets the needs of their diverse consumers, allowing them to label their products with either metric units or with both metric and inch-pound units. The proposed amendments do not to apply to unit pricing, advertising, recipes, nutrition labeling, other general pricing information, or require changes in package sizes.

Uniform Packaging and Labeling Regulation (UPLR)

The National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) has eliminated barriers to the use of metric units in trade and commerce in all of its model laws and regulations so that the marketplace is free to use metric units when consumers and business decide to change. Since January 1, 2000, the Uniform Packaging and Labeling Regulation (UPLR, NIST HB 130) has allowed metric net quantity declarations on consumer packages not subject to Federal regulations. The UPLR has allowed metric labeling on non-consumer packages (those packages marked for wholesale and industrial trade) for more than 20 years.

Today, under state and local laws, all scales, gas pumps and other weighing and measuring instruments used in trade and commerce can be calibrated to weigh or measure using the SI. Also, unit pricing for products sold by weight can be by the price per kilogram or price per 100 grams (e.g., if a product costs $7.69 per pound its unit price in metric units would be shown as $16.95 per kilogram or $1.69 per 100 grams).

NIST has developed Special Publication 1020 Labeling Guides to aid packagers, label designers, manufacturers and others in understanding the method of sale and labeling requirements under the UPLR in NIST Handbook 130, which is the basis for the labeling regulations in most states. Each guide provides examples of how to correctly label packages in both metric and inch-pound by weight, measure (e.g., length, width, thickness and area), fluid volume, dry volume, and count. More labeling guidance is available:

• Fact Sheet on Metric Labeling for Consumer Packages
• FDA Food Labeling Guidance

EU Metric Directive

Council Directive 80/181/EEC (December 20, 1979), commonly known as the EU Metric Directive, scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2010, is in the process of being modified to allow the continuation of both supplemental (U.S. customary, inch-pound) and metric units for consumer goods sold in the EU.

When adoption is final, the amendment will be published in the Official Journal.

Without amendment, the Metric Directive would make the sole use of metric units obligatory in all aspects of life in the European Union, extending to areas such as product literature and advertising. The Metric Directive would allow the use of only metric units, and prohibit the use of any other measurements for most products sold in the EU.

The proposed amendment to the Directive instructs the European Commission to produce a report to the Parliament and Council regarding the smooth functioning of the internal market and international acceptance of SI units by December 31, 2019, including proposals where appropriate. Demonstrated progress will be important to achieve long-term acceptance of supplemental units in the EU. Modifying the U.S. Fair Package and Labeling Act (FPLA) to permit metric labeling is an example where greater international marketplace acceptance of SI units can be achieved. More information is available:

View EU Metric Directive (2010)
View proposed modification to permit supplemental units (November 2008)
View Commerce Business Alert (July 2006)
View EU Metric Directive Commission Services Working Document (December 2006)
View U.S. Government Comments to the EU Consultation (February 2007)
View Report of European Union (EU) Meeting on Metric Directives (March 2005)

Writing in Metric Units

Familiarity with just a few basic SI (metric) units is all you need for most business and consumer activities. Learn more about writing with Metric Units or use a checklist to review scientific documents.

International Paper Sizes

The International System of Units (SI) is about measuring the weight or dimensions of objects, not changing their sizes. The U.S. paper industry uses several customary paper formats that all have metric dimensions. Any object weighed or measured using the SI has a metric size (e.g., a typical page of office paper is 21.5 cm by 28 cm), just as the same object measured using customary units has a size (8.5 in by 11 in). While the standardization of sizes provides some benefits by simplifying things, the process of standardization is independent of the system of measurement.