How do I state what my cleaner is, how much is in the bottle and who is responsible?

Three lines, set by the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA) and the FTC's rules for household products in 16 CFR part 500. The front panel names the product by its common or usual name, such as "Glass Cleaner." The bottom 30 percent of the front panel states the net contents in both fluid ounces and milliliters, for example "Net Contents 8 fl. oz. (236 mL)," in type at least as tall as the panel's size requires. Somewhere on the label, the name and place of business of the maker or the company it was made for appears, with "Distributed by" or similar if that is not you [1].

Who these rules cover

Part 500 applies to a "consumer commodity," and a package is "any container or wrapping in which any consumer commodity is enclosed for use in the delivery or display of that commodity to retail purchasers" [1]. A bottle of all-purpose cleaner sold at a market, in a shop or online to households is covered. These lines are required whether or not the product is hazardous; when it is hazardous, the FHSA's warnings are added on top, as set out on what a cleaning product label must say.

Step 1: Find your principal display panel and measure it

The principal display panel (PDP) is "that part of a label that is most likely to be displayed, presented, shown, or examined" at retail [1]. Its area sets the minimum type size for the net contents, so measure it first. Part 500 gives the method [1]:

• Rectangular face (a flat bottle or a box): height times width of that side.
• Cylindrical or near-cylindrical container (most round bottles and jugs): 40 percent of the height of the container times its circumference.

For a round bottle, measure your own container's height and its circumference with a tape, then multiply: PDP area = 0.40 × height × circumference [1]. Use the full container height, as the regulation says, rather than the height of the label. Write the result down; every size decision in step 3 comes from it.

Step 2: Write the statement of identity

The identity names what the product is. Part 500 says it is to be "in terms of" the name required by law, the common or usual name, or a generic name or other appropriate description, and that it "shall be in such type size and so positioned as to render it easily read and understood by the consumer," in lines "generally parallel to the base on which the package or commodity rests" [1].

In practice, for a cleaner: "All-Purpose Cleaner," "Glass and Window Cleaner," "Scouring Powder," "Laundry Detergent," "Bathroom Cleaner." Your brand name is separate. "Meadowbright" is a brand; "Meadowbright All-Purpose Cleaner" carries the identity.

The identity is also where makers accidentally add a claim. "Sanitizing Spray" or "Disinfecting Cleaner" as a statement of identity is a germ claim on the front of the bottle, and it makes the product a pesticide unless it is registered. Words to avoid in a product name are worked through on words that turn a name into a claim.

Step 3: Write and place the net contents

Units. A liquid is declared by fluid measure [1]. Part 500 requires fluid measure in terms of "both the U.S. gallon of 231 cubic inches" and its subdivisions and SI metric units, and weight in "both avoirdupois pound and ounce and SI metric kilograms, grams" [1]. So a liquid cleaner states fluid ounces (or pints, quarts, gallons) and milliliters or liters; a powder states ounces or pounds and grams or kilograms. The regulation's own examples read "Net Contents 8 fl. oz. (236 mL)" and "1 qt. (946 mL)" [1]. For containers declared in quarts or gallons, an extra fluid ounce figure immediately beside it is optional [1].

Placement. The net quantity "shall be placed on the principal display panel within the bottom 30 percent of the area of the label panel," in lines generally parallel to the base [1]. A PDP of 5 square inches (32.2 cm²) or less is exempt from the bottom-30-percent placement [1]. The net quantity statement is set in boldface type [1].

Type size. The minimum height of the letters depends on the PDP area [1]:

Find your step 1 area in the left column and read across. If your measured area sits close to a band edge, size the type for the larger band so a slightly different measurement cannot put you under.

Metric form. Part 500 sets how SI figures are written, including keeping numerical values between 1 and 1000 by choosing the right unit (750 mL, 3.78 L) and the permitted symbols [1]. Section 500.19 governs the conversion itself: figures are converted with the chart in NIST Handbook 133, Appendix E, and shown in three digits, or two where the quantity is below 100, as in its example "1 lb (453 g)" [1]. A 2 fl oz bottle therefore shows 59 mL.

Weight. A powder under 1 pound is declared in ounces; at 1 pound or more, in whole pounds with any remainder in ounces, for example 1 lb 8 oz (500.9) [1].

What the number has to mean. The declared quantity is what is in the bottle, measured the way it is declared. Filling to that number by weight, using the batch's measured density, is covered on filling, along with the average and individual package requirements inspectors apply.

Step 4: Name the business that stands behind it

The label names the manufacturer, packer or distributor. If the product is not made by the company named, the name is qualified, for example "Manufactured for ______" or "Distributed by ______" [1]. For the place of business, part 500 allows the street address to be left off if it is listed in "a readily accessible, widely published, and publicly available resource," such as a printed directory, electronic database or website [1].

Two other rules lean on this line:

• The FHSA requires the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, distributor or seller on a hazardous product's label [2]. One line serves both laws.
• California's Cleaning Product Right to Know Act treats as the "manufacturer" both the company whose name is on the label and the company the product is "manufactured for or distributed by," as identified on the label under the FPLA [3]. If you put your name on a product a contract manufacturer makes, California's disclosure duties land on you. The details are on listing ingredients.

A minimum risk 25(b) product has stricter contact rules of its own, including a street address and telephone number, set out on minimum risk (25(b)) products.

The three lines on one bottle

The brand is illustrative. For other sizes, take metric equivalents from the NIST Handbook 133 conversion chart that 500.19 points to, rather than rounding by eye, and make sure your fill delivers them [1].

Before you print

Measure the PDP on a filled bottle, check the net contents line sits in the bottom 30 percent at the right size, confirm both unit systems, and read the identity aloud to make sure it describes a cleaner and makes no germ claim. The rest of the label, if your product is hazardous, follows what a cleaning product label must say. These are the FTC rules as read in the eCFR on October 22, 2026 (up to date as of October 19, 2026); the FTC administers them, and the way inspectors check the net contents of a lot is explained on filling.

Choosing the words in the name

The identity line is short, and it carries the most legal weight of any words on the bottle. Which words turn a product name into a germ, safety or environmental claim is set out on words that turn a name into a claim.

References

1. Code of Federal Regulations, 16 CFR part 500, Regulations under section 4 of the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, sections 500.2, 500.4, 500.5, 500.6, 500.7, 500.8, 500.9, 500.10, 500.19, 500.20, 500.21 and 500.23, eCFR, up to date as of October 19, 2026. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-E/part-500
2. Code of Federal Regulations, 16 CFR 1500.3, Definitions, via Cornell Legal Information Institute, read October 22, 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/1500.3
3. California Health and Safety Code section 108952, via California.Public.Law, verified October 19, 2026. https://california.public.law/codes/health_and_safety_code_section_108952