page_title: Metrication in the United States
section_title: Consumer and retail
hierarchical_section_title: Metrication in the United States / Current use / Consumer and retail
caption_attribution_description: English: A Paul Mitchell brand shampoo with the lower portion of the bottle in focus.
context_page_description: Metrication is the process of introducing the International System of Units, also known as SI units or the metric system, to replace a jurisdiction's traditional measuring units. Although U.S. customary units have been defined in terms of metric units since the 19th century, as of 2019 the United States is one of only three countries that have not officially adopted the metric system as the primary means of weights and measures.
  The United States has official legislation for metrication; however, conversion was not mandatory and many industries chose not to convert, and unlike other countries, there is no governmental or major social desire to implement further metrication.
  Although customary units are used more often than metric units in the U.S., the SI system is used extensively in some fields such as science, medicine, the military, automobile production and repair, and international affairs. Post-1994 federal law also mandates most packaged consumer goods be labeled in both customary and metric units.
context_section_description: Some U.S. consumer products come in rounded metric sizes. This appears to be increasing because of the international nature of manufacturing, distribution, and sales. Many items are produced in rounded metric quantities and some manufacturers opt to display the metric quantity first or more prominently (e.g., Oral-B Glide dental floss is available in 35-, 40-, and 50-meter packages).
  Perhaps the most common metric item sold is the two-liter bottle. Some supermarket chains also make their store brand soft drinks available in 3-liter sizes. Soft drink containers of 1 and 0.5 liters (and more recently 1.25 liter bottles) are increasingly sold alongside 12 fl oz, 16 fl oz, 20 fl oz, and 24 fl oz (355, 473, 591 and 710 mL) sizes.
  The half-liter water bottle (16.9 fl oz) has nearly replaced the 16 ounce size. 700 mL (23.6 fl oz) and one-liter sizes are also common, though 20 fl oz, and 24 fl oz sizes remain popular, particularly in vending machines.
  Attempts to sell 3- or 4-liter jugs of milk, instead of gallons (3.785 L), have been largely unsuccessful, and such bottles are rarely seen in the United States. Milk remains sold in binary divisions of the gallon, with half-pints, pints, quarts and half-gallons being the primary sizes.
  Shampoo, mouthwash, and dental floss have begun to be sold in metric sizes. PowerBars and similar products have always been sold (but not marketed) by the gram.
  Nutritional food labels typically report serving sizes in both systems but only list metric values (g or mg) for the breakdown of individual nutrients.
caption: A shampoo bottle labeled with mL first and fl oz second. Note the ℮ estimated net quantity symbol indicates the product also conforms to European Union regulations.
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