Hat bands, linings and peaks from China

0% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, headbands, linings, covers, hat foundations, hat frames, peaks and chinstraps for headgear, heading 6507, carried 0% on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure.

Finished hats and caps are classified as headgear; see our caps and hats guide and straw hats guide. Confirm the commodity code from whether the goods are parts for making hats or finished items.

Skin contact

Sweatbands and linings sit against the forehead, so entry 43 of Annex XVII of UK REACH on azo dyes that release listed aromatic amines applies to dyed textile parts, and entry 27 limits nickel release from metal buckles, eyelets and snaps in prolonged skin contact. Ask for test reports for each material and colour.

The finished hat carries the fibre labelling, so the maker needs the composition of every textile part you supply.

Specifying hat parts

Specify sweatband material, width and elasticity, lining fabric and print, peak insert material (plastic or board) and curve, frame wire gauge and shape, chinstrap buckle and adjuster, and colours. Peak inserts of board lose shape when washed, so name the care the finished cap must survive.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 200,000 cap peak inserts and sweatbands, commodity code 6507 00 00 00, bought for £9,000 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance, so £9,900 is the value customs works from. No duty is due on hat parts; import VAT at 20% of £9,900 is £1,980. If you are VAT-registered, that VAT is normally reclaimable. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

Inspection checklist

Colour and sweat: test colour fastness to perspiration to ISO 105-E04 and to washing to ISO 105-C06 on sweatbands and linings in each colour, since dark bands stain foreheads and light caps.

Metal parts: test nickel release to BS EN 1811 on buckles, snaps and eyelets that touch the skin, and pull-test chinstrap buckles and adjusters against the force agreed in the order.

Peaks and frames: wash sampled caps with inserts fitted by the care label and check the peak keeps its curve and shape, and measure frame and peak dimensions against the pattern.

What goes wrong

Hat parts fail on staining, shape and fit. Dark sweatbands bleed onto skin and light fabric, board peak inserts warp or disintegrate in the wash, plastic peaks crack in the cold, metal buckles release nickel or corrode, and sweatband length or elasticity does not suit the hat sizes.

Test colour fastness and wash performance on the approved material, check metal parts, and trial parts in finished hats before bulk. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources sweatbands, peaks, linings and hat frames for UK hat and cap makers, and has no minimum order of its own; the factory's minimum per part applies. See small orders.