Sourcing toilet paper and tissue from China

Zero duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, toilet paper of any weight per ply, handkerchiefs and facial tissues, towels in rolls, tablecloths and serviettes carried 0% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure.

Parent reels for converting in the UK classify differently from finished rolls, so confirm the commodity code for the form you buy.

Paper and paperboard of chapter 48 are within the scope of the UK Timber Regulations, except bamboo-based and recovered (waste and scrap) products. The business that first places the goods on the GB market, usually the importer, must carry out due diligence on the timber behind the paper, so ask the supplier for the pulp source, species and country of harvest, and any FSC or PEFC chain of custody certificate.

Container economics

Tissue is mostly air, so freight is a large share of the landed price, and the number of cases per container decides the unit cost. Compressed packing and core-less rolls raise the fill; ask the factory for the container quantity in each pack format and compare landed cost per roll, not ex-works price.

The sea or air freight and landed price guides show the arithmetic.

Specification

Specify the ply, sheet count, sheet size, grammage per ply, pulp source, softness and whether the paper is virgin or recycled, and check each on samples at inspection; a pack that claims more sheets than it holds is the common short-change. For dental bibs, see our disposable dental bib sourcing guide.

Plastic wrap and cases count towards packaging EPR and the plastic packaging tax where they apply, and any sustainability claims on the pack need evidence.

Worked duty example

For a made-up shipment of a 40-foot container of 3-ply toilet rolls under 4818 10 10 00, add the £3,500 of freight and insurance to the £14,000 free-on-board price and customs sees £17,500. Duty on toilet paper is zero, leaving import VAT of £3,500, 20% of the customs value. For a VAT-registered buyer that is a cash-flow cost rather than a lasting one. Here freight and insurance are a fifth of the customs value, which is why container fill matters more than the ex-works price. The duty and VAT guide walks through the calculation.

Inspection checklist

Paper properties: grammage per ply measured by ISO 12625-6, dry tensile strength by ISO 12625-4, wet tensile strength for kitchen towel by ISO 12625-5 and water absorption by ISO 12625-8, all compared with the approved sample and the order, with moisture checked by ISO 287 on cases at loading.

Counts and dimensions: sheets counted and sheet length and width measured on rolls from several cases, roll diameter and core size checked against the dispenser the buyer uses, pack counts checked against the printed claim, and perforation checked for clean tearing along the whole roll.

Packs and claims: FSC or PEFC chain-of-custody certificates checked against the invoice where a logo is printed, recycled-content claims backed by the mill's fibre records, poly wrap seals, case strength and pallet stability checked, and cases inspected for damp, crushing and mould before the container is closed.

What goes wrong

Tissue fails on count, weight and condition. Packs hold fewer sheets than printed or sheets are shorter than stated, grammage per ply is cut so the roll feels thin, and recycled or mixed pulp is supplied against an order for virgin fibre. Rolls leave lint, tear at the perforation or are hard to the touch, and condensation in the container makes cases damp so rolls crush, cores collapse and mould appears.

Count sheets and measure sheet size on sample rolls, weigh rolls and check grammage per ply, test softness and perforation strength against an approved sample, ask for the pulp source and any FSC or PEFC chain-of-custody certificate claimed on the pack, check moisture and case condition at loading, and use desiccant and dry pallets in the container.

Hospitality and printing

Hotels and catering buy tissue in dispenser formats, so match the roll or fold format to the dispensers in use. Printed napkins add colour matching and minimums per design; see the hospitality guide. For till supplies, see our guide to importing thermal paper and till rolls.

Cambridge China Bridge sources own-label and hospitality tissue products, with the specification, pack counts and container fill agreed before production. See how our sourcing service works.

Related guides: Sourcing tissue parent reels from China.