The Swiss Cross No Longer Means Swiss Made. Here’s What Does.

On March 23, 2026, the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE) made a ruling that changes what the Swiss Cross means for consumers worldwide. Shoe brand On, whose products are manufactured entirely in Vietnam and Indonesia, may now use the Swiss Cross on all its shoes, including those sold in Switzerland. The reason: On develops all its products in Zurich. The IGE now accepts Swiss development (without Swiss manufacturing) as sufficient for the symbol.

This is a fundamental shift. Since the Swissness legislation came into force in 2017, the Swiss Cross has been legally reserved for products where at least 60% of manufacturing costs occur in Switzerland, and an essential manufacturing step takes place domestically. That legislation has not changed, but the IGE’s interpretation of it has. The cross is now permitted on products designed in Switzerland but made entirely abroad.

This raises an obvious question for anyone who buys Swiss products because they trust the origin: If the Swiss Cross no longer guarantees manufacturing in Switzerland, what does?

How We Got Here: The On Dispute

The ruling didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s the result of years of conflict between the On and Swiss authorities.

Founded in Zurich in 2010, On manufactures all its shoes in Vietnam and Indonesia. Since 2017, the company has used the Swiss Cross on products sold abroad but not in Switzerland, acknowledging the Swissness legislation’s 60% domestic production requirement. Critics called this “label deception.”

By mid-2025, Swissness Enforcement, a partnership between the IGE and Economiesuisse, escalated the dispute. They engaged a Chinese law firm to target On in one of its fastest-growing markets. Chinese competition authorities confronted On’s leadership, threatening consequences within 10 days.

On’s founders (Olivier Bernhard, David Allemann, and Caspar Coppetti) responded with a sharp letter to the IGE, Swissness Enforcement, and Economiesuisse. On March 23, 2026, the IGE backed down. On won.

The IGE confirmed that companies developing entirely in Switzerland may now use the Swiss Cross even without Swiss manufacturing, under certain conditions that have not yet been fully published. On stated the cross will appear “in due course on all our shoes, including those sold in Switzerland.”

Critical limitation: This is an interpretive practice change, not new legislation. Courts can still rule differently in individual cases. The IGE itself noted: “It remains possible to take legal action against the use of the Swiss Cross in individual cases.”

Three Symbols, What Each One Means Now

To understand what genuine Swiss origin means today, you need to know the difference between three distinct symbols:

1. The Swiss Cross

Used commercially on products that meet Swissness origin criteria. As of March 23, 2026, that includes products developed in Switzerland, even if manufactured abroad, under conditions the IGE has not yet fully detailed.

Controlled by: The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE), a government body

What it now guarantees: Swiss development OR Swiss manufacturing (or both)

What changed: Its meaning has broadened significantly

2. Swiss Made

A protected designation under Swiss federal law. Requires at least 60% of manufacturing costs in Switzerland AND an essential manufacturing step to take place in Switzerland. Different industries have different thresholds, for example, watches require 60% of manufacturing value in Switzerland, while food products require 80% of raw material weight to be Swiss.

Controlled by: Swiss federal legislation (Swissness Act, in force since 2017)

What it guarantees: Actual manufacturing in Switzerland, with specific cost thresholds

What changed: The legislation itself has not changed, but the IGE’s practice on the Swiss Cross now creates a gap between the cross symbol and the “Swiss Made” legal standard

3. The Swiss Label Crossbow

A private certification mark from Swiss Label, an association founded in 1917, predating the Swissness legislation by nearly a century. Independent of the IGE and the federal government. Its standards are set by a private membership body of Swiss manufacturers and are not altered by government practice changes.

Controlled by: Swiss Label (Schweizerische Vereinigung für Qualitäts- und Management-Systeme), a private certification association

What it guarantees: Products manufactured in Switzerland meeting strict quality and origin standards set by the association, the original meaning of Swiss Made before today’s dilution

What changed: Nothing. Swiss Label’s standards are independent of the IGE ruling and remain unchanged

The key point: These are three different things. The IGE changed its practice on the Swiss Cross today. It did not, and cannot, change Swiss Label’s private certification standards.

What SwissMade.Direct Does Differently

SwissMade.Direct is the official international representative of Swiss Label. We’ve held this partnership for years, operating since 2005 with a singular focus: listing only products genuinely manufactured in Switzerland.

This partnership means something concrete. While the IGE interprets government regulations, Swiss Label sets private certification standards that are stricter, older, and independent of political or economic pressure. The crossbow emblem you see on our product pages isn’t a government symbol that can be reinterpreted. It’s a private certification that manufacturers must earn and maintain.

Here’s how our verification works:

Product-by-product assessment: Every item on SwissMade.Direct is verified at the SKU level, not the brand level. A Swiss company might make some products in Switzerland and others abroad. We verify each one individually.

Manufacturing location review: We review manufacturer declarations, production site information, and material sourcing documentation.

Category-specific rules: We assess products against the legal thresholds for their category, 60% of production costs in Switzerland for industrial goods, 80% of raw material weight for food products.

Swiss Label certification check: We confirm Swiss Label membership and certification status where applicable.

Three-tier transparency system: Every product page displays one of three labels:

“Swissness – Swiss Label”: Meets strict legal Swissness criteria AND is Swiss Label certified with the crossbow emblem

“SwissMade (Origin)”: Verifiably manufactured in Switzerland (smaller producers who meet legal standards but may not hold formal Swiss Label certification)

“Almost SwissMade”: Swiss brand or heritage, but production partly or fully abroad, disclosed transparently with explanation

Conservative default: If information is incomplete or a product sits in a grey area, we default to the most conservative label and disclose the limitation clearly.

Importantly, SwissMade.Direct aligns with the IGE’s framework while maintaining the highest manufacturing standards. We respect that the IGE now permits the Swiss Cross for development-focused companies. But we do not list those products. Items like On shoes, designed brilliantly in Zurich but manufactured in Vietnam, do not appear on our platform.

Our commitment is specific and narrow: we list products where the actual manufacturing happens in Switzerland. That’s what our customers expect when they come to a platform called SwissMade.Direct, and that’s what the Swiss Label crossbow certifies.

Why This Matters More Today Than Yesterday

The Swiss Cross is now a broader symbol. It can represent Swiss innovation, Swiss design, Swiss engineering, Swiss development, or Swiss manufacturing. All of these are valuable. But they are not the same thing.

A consumer who sees the Swiss Cross on a product today cannot assume it was made in Switzerland. The cross is still a meaningful signal of Swiss connection and quality, just a broader, less specific one than it was 24 hours ago.

In that context, platforms and certifications that maintain the stricter, more specific standard become more valuable.

Think about organic food. When “natural” and “organic-inspired” claims proliferated, third-party certified organic became the trusted standard. When companies started calling themselves “eco-friendly” without a definition, B Corp certification became more valuable. When “handmade” became marketing language, Etsy introduced verified handmade seller badges.

The same pattern applies here. When a broad trust signal expands to include more products, the verified, higher-tier certifications become the new benchmark for consumers who want the original guarantee.

The CHF 7 billion question: Switzerland’s “Swissness premium”, the price advantage Swiss-origin products command globally, has been estimated at CHF 7 billion annually. Does today’s ruling threaten that premium?

For the broad market, yes, there’s long-term downward pressure as the Swiss Cross signal dilutes. But for verified channels that maintain the higher manufacturing standard, the opposite is true. SwissMade.Direct’s position as the platform where the Swiss Label crossbow guarantees genuine Swiss manufacturing becomes more premium by contrast, not less.

For the producers listed on our platform, their SwissMade.Direct listing is now worth more than it was yesterday because the Swiss Cross alone no longer does the job for consumers who care about genuine manufacturing origin.

What Hasn’t Changed

Swiss Label’s standards. They were set by a private association in 1917, refined over more than a century, and are maintained independently of government practice. The IGE ruling has no effect on them.

The Swissness legislation. The federal law requiring 60% of manufacturing costs in Switzerland (or 80% for food) for “Swiss Made” claims has not changed.

SwissMade.Direct’s verification process. We already operated a more rigorous standard than the IGE minimum. That’s why we partnered with Swiss Label years ago. Today’s ruling doesn’t change our requirements. It clarifies why they matter.

The Four-Level Hierarchy: What You’re Actually Buying

Here’s the clearest way to understand what different Swiss symbols guarantee:

Symbol/Claim	Controlled By	What It Guarantees	Changed by IGE Ruling?
Swiss Cross	IGE (government)	Developed OR manufactured in Switzerland	YES, diluted
Swiss Made	Federal legislation	≥60% production costs + essential step in Switzerland	NO, legislation unchanged
Swiss Label (crossbow)	Private association (founded 1917)	Manufactured in Switzerland, strict quality standards	NO, fully independent
SwissMade.Direct listing	SwissMade.Direct + Swiss Label	All of the above + SKU-level verification	Manufactured in Switzerland, with strict quality standards

When you buy from SwissMade.Direct, you’re getting the fourth level – the full stack. Not just a symbol that can be reinterpreted. Not just legislation that sets a minimum threshold. But private certification, institutional partnership, and product-by-product verification.

The Bottom Line

The Swiss Cross has evolved. It now includes Swiss development alongside Swiss manufacturing, both valuable, but not the same thing.

Swiss Made legislation still requires actual production in Switzerland, with clear cost thresholds.

The Swiss Label crossbow certifies what the Swiss Cross used to mean: genuinely manufactured in Switzerland to the highest quality standards, verified by an independent association that has maintained these standards since 1917.

And SwissMade.Direct, as the official international representative of Swiss Label, lists only products manufactured in Switzerland, verified product-by-product, aligned with the IGE’s framework, while maintaining the manufacturing standards that consumers trust.

If Swiss manufacturing origin matters to you, not just Swiss design or development, but the place where skilled hands actually make the product, look for the crossbow. You’ll find it here.

SwissMade.Direct is the official international representative of Swiss Label, a private Swiss quality certification founded in 1917. It is the only online platform listing exclusively products manufactured in Switzerland and verified at the SKU level, operating since 2005. The Swiss Label crossbow certifies that a product meets the strictest Swiss origin and quality standards, regardless of changes in government practice, such as the IGE’s March 2026 ruling.

Sources: NZZ: “On gewinnt den Swissness-Streit – Bund lockert die Regeln für die Verwendung des Schweizerkreuzes” (March 23, 2026) Watson/Keystone-SDA: “On gewinnt Streit um Schweizerkreuz” (March 23, 2026) Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE): ige.ch