The Tirupur knitwear cluster wants hosiery products to be exempt from the packaged product list. And wants the Standards and Measurements Act and Packaged Commodity Rules to be amended. Manufacturers say hosiery products are bought by customers in bulk and that consumers prefer usually one or two basic garments from the main packet that contains a number of pieces. Considering this, hosiery products should be considered as a pre-packaged commodity and not as a packed commodity.

Hosiery manufacturers wanted the amendment immediately as they say they are being subject to harassment by officials even after they sell the products to retail vendors. Since the products fall under the packaged rules, hosiery manufacturers are mandated to display the number of pieces inside, maximum retail price per piece and the name of the manufacturer as a label outside. So even if the vendor sells the products piece by piece, the manufacturer stands to be penalised.

A Supreme Court ruling in 1999 upheld the imposition of fine by the legal metrology department in Kerala on readymade articles of a Palakkad-based readymade manufacturer that was sold in retail. This ruling quashed an earlier high court order that favored the apparel producer.