Sourcing cotton quilt wadding from China

Cotton wadding carries 2% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 5 October 2026, heading 5601 covers textile wadding and articles of wadding, alongside textile flock, dust and mill neps. This guide concerns cotton quilt wadding. The table shows different supply formats sharing the cotton 'other' line, rather than separate tariff categories.

Cotton wadding under 5601 21 90 00 carries 2% duty from China; absorbent cotton wadding under 5601 21 10 00 also carries 2%. The supplied tariff record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duties, suspensions or attached import controls for either cotton line.

Ask your customs broker to confirm the commodity code against the actual fibre composition and construction, especially where a backing or synthetic binder is present. For the wider heading and a comparison with synthetic quilt filling, see polyester quilt batting.

Specify cotton content and quilting performance

Specify the cotton content and disclose any synthetic fibres, supporting scrim or bonding resin. Agree mass per unit area, width, usable roll length, thickness under an agreed pressure and acceptable variation. Keep an approved sample showing the expected colour, softness and visible cotton specks.

Sew a trial quilt with your intended cover fabric and stitching pattern. Agree wash and drying conditions, then check shrinkage, bunching, fibre migration and loft recovery. Record whether the wadding is supplied washed or unwashed, and ask the factory for its recommended quilting spacing.

Consumer quilting wadding must be safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 in Great Britain. These rules cover products intended for, or reasonably likely to be used by, consumers. Keep records identifying your suppliers so that product origins can be traced.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 8 tonnes of cotton quilt wadding in rolls under 5601 21 90 00, invoiced at £14,000 free on board, with £2,200 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £16,200. Duty at 2% is £324. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £16,524, so it is £3,304.80. Import taxes total £3,628.80; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £324 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Composition: compare the declared cotton content, scrim and binder with the order and approved sample; arrange fibre testing where composition is uncertain.

Weight and dimensions: weigh measured cut samples from different rolls, check usable width and length, and look for thin patches or stretched edges.

Quilting and washing: stitch sample panels, wash and dry as agreed, then check shrinkage, bunching and fibres working through the cover fabric.

Arrival condition: open compressed packs and check loft recovery, dampness, odour, contamination and roll identification. Use the quality inspection guide to agree the inspection brief.

What goes wrong

A soft sample can conceal low weight or uneven fibre distribution in production. Thin patches leave a quilt uneven, cotton specks show through pale covers, and an undisclosed scrim or binder changes the handle. Compressed rolls may arrive flattened or damp.

Wash shrinkage and fibre migration can appear only after the wadding is sewn into a quilt. Approve a washed trial panel as well as the loose sample, retain batch samples, and compare production rolls before accepting a repeat order.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For repeat volumes, see container programmes.