Sourcing men's underwear and loungewear from China
Men's and boys' knitted underpants, briefs, nightshirts, pyjamas, bathrobes and dressing gowns from China pay 12% UK duty, whatever the fibre, with no anti-dumping duty. Fibre content must be labelled, and pyjamas, nightshirts and dressing gowns are nightwear under the 1985 safety regulations, with fire labelling for adults' garments. Cambridge China Bridge sources men's underwear and loungewear.
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A flat 12%
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, men's or boys' knitted or crocheted underpants and briefs, nightshirts and pyjamas, and bathrobes, dressing gowns and similar articles carried 12% duty on goods from China in cotton, man-made fibres or other materials, with no anti-dumping measure.
Woven versions are in heading 6207 and women's in 6108; the pyjamas guide covers women's and children's nightwear. Confirm the commodity code. For daytime garments, see our men's knitted suits and trousers guide.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Underpants and briefs, cotton | 6107 11 00 00 | 12% | None |
| Underpants and briefs, man-made fibres | 6107 12 00 00 | 12% | None |
| Nightshirts and pyjamas, cotton | 6107 21 00 00 | 12% | None |
| Nightshirts and pyjamas, man-made fibres | 6107 22 00 00 | 12% | None |
| Bathrobes and dressing gowns, cotton | 6107 91 00 00 | 12% | None |
| Bathrobes and dressing gowns, man-made fibres | 6107 99 00 20 | 12% | None |
Fibre labels
The Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012 require textile products to show their fibre composition using the permitted fibre names. Put the composition, care symbols and size on the label artwork, and check it against a fibre test on the bulk fabric.
Nightwear safety
The Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985 require adults' nightwear, which includes men's pyjamas, nightshirts and dressing gowns, to be labelled in accordance with Schedule 2. A garment that does not meet the flammability test must say KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE in red; one that does may say LOW FLAMMABILITY TO BS 5722.
Boys' dressing gowns and nightshirts are children's nightwear and must meet the flammability requirements; boys' pyjamas and cotton terry towelling bathrobes are labelled instead.
What most often fails: Clothing, textiles and fashion
UK OPSS + EU / EEA Safety Gate (alerts counted separately in each system) · China-origin alerts over the 24 calendar month coverage window(2024-12 – 2026-11) · 152
Combined counts are alerts from both systems, not unique products across markets. Each source uses its own publication window; the same product may appear in both. · OPSS: 2024-12 – 2026-11 · Safety Gate: 2024-12 – 2026-11
- Chemical: 95
- Entrapment: 25
- Strangulation: 20
Most-cited regulations
- REACH Regulation: 79
- General Product Safety Regulation: 36
- EN 14682: 26
Checks to ask the factory for
- Ask for laboratory testing for restricted substances relevant to the materials and intended market.
- Match the report model, material colours and component list to the order.
- Ask how raw-material declarations and supplier changes are traced by batch.
Questions for due diligence, not a certification checklist or a guarantee of compliance. Select the applicable standards and tests with a competent laboratory.
The current calendar month is partial. These are published alerts, safety reports and recalls, not a measure of all products sold or a recall rate. Hong Kong is reported separately.
All recall dataContains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OPSS, GOV.UK product safety alerts)
Source: European Commission, Safety Gate, English XML (en), extracted 2026-11-09. XML distribution: CC0. Cambridge China Bridge analysis.
Worked duty example
An invented example rather than a quote: 30,000 pairs of men's cotton boxer briefs, commodity code 6107 11 00 00, bought for £36,000 free on board, with £2,500 of freight and insurance, so £38,500 is the value customs works from. Duty at the 12% rate for men's cotton underwear is £4,620. VAT at 20% applies to £43,120, so £8,624. A VAT-registered buyer usually recovers the VAT, so the border adds £4,620 to the landed cost. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.
Inspection checklist
Washing performance: dimensional change measured by ISO 5077 after washing to ISO 6330 on garments from each size, waistband and leg elastic extended and measured for recovery after the same washes, and colour fastness tested to washing by ISO 105-C06, perspiration by ISO 105-E04 and rubbing by ISO 105-X12.
Fabric and seams: bursting strength of the knitted fabric tested by ISO 13938-2, pilling by ISO 12945-2, seams stretched to check that flatlock and overlock stitches do not crack, and fibre content verified by the ISO 1833 methods against the label required by the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012.
Nightwear and chemicals: pyjamas, nightshirts and dressing gowns tested against the flammability performance requirement of BS 5722 and labelled as the Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985 require, and dyed fabrics tested for restricted azo dyes under UK REACH Annex XVII entry 43.
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What goes wrong
Underwear and loungewear fail on the waistband, shrinkage and seams. Elastic that loses recovery after a few washes makes briefs sag, and printed or jacquard waistbands crack or bleed. Cotton jersey shrinks in length, leg openings ride up, and flatlock seams that are too tight split. Pyjamas and dressing gowns without the required fire label, or with the wrong wording, are the compliance failure.
Wash-test finished garments for shrinkage, elastic recovery and colour fastness, check seam strength and stitch density, measure garments from every size after washing, and check the fibre and fire labels on pyjamas and dressing gowns against the regulations before packing.
Fit and inspection
Approve fit on a size set, and specify fabric weight, elastic, waistband and shrinkage limits. At inspection, check measurements, seams, elastic recovery and labels. For thermal styles, see our men's knitted thermal underpants guide.
Cambridge China Bridge sources men's underwear, pyjamas and dressing gowns, with fibre, fit and nightwear labels settled before the order. See how our sourcing service works.
Related guides: Men's woven pyjamas and robes from China.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on men's underwear from China?
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, men's knitted underpants, briefs, pyjamas and dressing gowns carried 12% duty from China, with no anti-dumping duty.
Do men's pyjamas need a fire label?
Yes. Adults' nightwear must be labelled under Schedule 2 of the Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985, with KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE if it does not meet the flammability test.
What must a fibre label show?
The fibre composition using permitted fibre names, under the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012.
Are woven boxer shorts in heading 6107?
No. Woven men's underwear and nightwear are in heading 6207.