Made in Italy is a merchandise mark indicating that a product is all planned, manufactured and packed in Italy especially concerning the design, fashion, food, manufacturing, craftsmanship, and engineering industries.

Origins

Made in Italy brand has been used since 1980 to indicate the international uniqueness of Italy in four traditional industries: fashion, food, furniture and mechanical engineering (automobiles, industrial design, machineries and shipbuilding), in Italian also known as "Four A", Abbigliamento (clothes), Agroalimentare (food), Arredamento (furniture) and Automobili (automobiles). Italian products have often been associated with quality, high specialization and differentiation, elegance, and strong links to experienced and famous Italian industrial districts often connected with the concept of luxury. Since 1999, Made in Italy is regulated by the Italian law.

In recent times the merchandise mark Made in Italy has become decisive for Italian exports and so common worldwide to be often considered as a separate product category. In January 2014, Google Cultural Institute, in collaboration with the Italian government and the Italian Chamber of Commerce, launched an online project aimed to promote Made in Italy by using virtual showrooms about several famous Italian products.

Law

In 2009, the Italian law (Law 135, September 25th, 2009 - Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of Italy) stated that only products totally made in Italy (planning, manufacturing and packaging) are allowed to use the labels Made in Italy, 100% Made in Italy, 100% Italia, tutto italiano in every language, with or without the flag of Italy. Each abuse is punished by the Italian law.

Compared with "Made in Germany" ('all essential manufacturing steps') and "Made in the USA" ('all or virtually all'), Italian regulation is more restrictive ('totally') in determining what qualifies for the use of the "Made in Italy" label.

(by Wikipedia)