Sourcing textile legionnaire hats from China

Duty on textile legionnaire hats

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 30 September 2026, heading 6505 covers knitted or crocheted headgear and hats made up from textile fabric, whether lined or trimmed. The relevant peaked-cap and other textile-hat lines both carry 2% duty for goods from China. The supplied record lists no anti-dumping or countervailing duty. Its suspension for disposable hair nets does not apply to legionnaire hats.

The tariff attaches CITES, cat and dog fur, and seal-product import controls. Cat and dog fur and products made from it are banned from import. For animal-derived trims from China, confirm CITES documentation with your customs broker before ordering. The tariff also attaches seal-product controls; confirm the applicable requirement with your broker. Specify textile-only construction if animal materials are unwanted.

The table shows product variants sharing tariff lines, rather than separate codes for flap designs. Confirm the finished hat's commodity code, particularly whether it is a peaked cap. See the cotton bucket hat guide for wider textile-hat context and the duty and VAT guide for the illustrative calculation.

Specify the neck flap and head fit

Define shell, lining and sweatband fabrics, head circumference, crown depth, peak shape and adjustment method. Give the neck flap's finished length, width and attachment position, and say whether it is fixed or detachable. Try the sample with the wearer turning and bending their head; check that the flap stays over the intended neck area.

Textile labels must show fibre content, including fur and other animal parts. Consumer-product businesses are responsible for product safety. Agree label wording and placement before production. For any sun-protection claim, ask for testing of the actual finished design and intended fabrics rather than accepting a report for an unrelated fabric.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 5,000 textile legionnaire caps, illustrative only under 6505 00 30 00, invoiced at £7,500 free on board, with £900 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £8,400. Duty at 2% is £168. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £8,568, so it is £1,713.60. Import taxes total £1,881.60; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £168 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Coverage and fit: compare flap dimensions, crown depth and adjustment range with the approved sample, and check coverage while the wearer moves.

Attachments and seams: pull-check detachable fasteners and adjustment straps; inspect the flap seam, edge binding and sweatband for skipped stitches and loose ends.

Fabric and labels: check fibre wording against the agreed materials, compare colours across shell and flap, and test sweatband colour transfer and washing behaviour.

Packing and arrival: check carton contents, dampness, mould, crushed peaks and creased flaps. Record discrepancies against the sample and packing list using the inspection guide.

What goes wrong

A flap can look long enough on a flat sample but expose the neck when worn because the crown sits too high or the attachment is too narrow. Detachable flaps can sag between fasteners, while stiff edge binding makes them curl away from the neck.

Sweatbands can bleed colour, flap fabric can shrink differently from the shell, and tight nesting can bend the peak. Approve a worn sample and a washed sample, retain the agreed construction, and compare production hats from each colour with those samples.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For own-brand ranges, see sourcing for brands.