Sourcing horsehair and coarse hair fabrics from China

0% duty and the CITES check

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 17 November 2026, heading 5113 covers woven fabrics of coarse animal hair or of horsehair. It is a single code carrying 0% on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. The code carries a CITES import control; declare that no protected species are used only where this is true and the goods do not require CITES documentation. Otherwise, obtain the applicable CITES documents before shipment.

Fabrics of fine animal hair such as cashmere belong to other headings; our cashmere and animal hair guide covers the fibre. Confirm the commodity code.

Labelling and fire rules

Garments and furnishings sold to consumers need fibre composition labels under the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012, so the hair and other fibre content must be known. Fabric used as a cover on domestic upholstered furniture sold in the UK falls under the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, as amended, where the furniture and cover are within scope.

Specify hair content and warp fibre, weight, weave, width, stiffness and resilience, colour, and finishing such as shrinking for tailoring canvas.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 500 metres of horsehair canvas for tailoring under 5113 00 00 00, invoiced at £6,000 free on board, with £300 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £6,300. Duty at 0% is £0. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £6,300, so it is £1,260. With no duty, the only import tax is the VAT, which a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Construction: check weight, width and hair content on samples.

Tailoring canvas: check stiffness, resilience and shrinkage after steaming.

Rolls: check for weaving faults and loose hairs. See our quality inspection guide.

What goes wrong

Horsehair fabric orders fail on hair content and shrinkage. Synthetic monofilament is substituted for horsehair, canvas shrinks when pressed, and hair ends work through the cloth.

Cambridge China Bridge sources tailoring and upholstery materials for UK makers from small lots; see small orders.