Sourcing tracksuits and swimwear from China

12% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, men's and women's swimwear, lined tracksuits of man-made fibres or cotton with a single-fabric outer shell, tracksuit tops and bottoms, and other garments of man-made fibres in the heading carried 12% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure.

These are the woven lines; knitted swimwear and tracksuits sit in chapter 61, so the fabric construction decides the commodity code, as with womenswear. For board shorts, see our men's woven board shorts sourcing guide.

Fibre label

Article 14 of Regulation 1007/2011, as it applies in Great Britain, requires the fibre composition on a durable, easily legible label or marking. Performance fabrics often blend polyamide or polyester with elastane, and the percentages on the label must match the fabric test; check them at inspection.

Retailers also expect care instructions suited to technical fabrics, so agree the care label with the fabric supplier's recommendation.

Performance tests

Swimwear fails on chlorine, salt water and sun: ask for chlorine resistance and colourfastness to sea water and light, and for stretch recovery after exposure. Sportswear fails on pilling, seam strength and stretch; ask for those tests on the bulk fabric and on finished garments. For martial arts clothing, see our woven karate uniforms guide. For judo clothing, see our woven judo uniforms sourcing guide.

Fit and sizing need the same care as in any apparel: a fit sample, a size set and a written grade rule; the apparel guide covers the process.

Worked duty example

For a made-up shipment of 10,000 women's swimsuits under 6211 12 00 00, add the £2,000 of freight and insurance to the £45,000 free-on-board price and customs sees £47,000. At 12%, duty on these women's swimwear is £5,640; import VAT of £10,528 is 20% of the value with duty added. Together that is £16,168, but a VAT-registered importer usually gets the VAT back. The duty and VAT guide walks through the calculation.

Inspection checklist

Fabric and wash: dimensional change after washing measured by ISO 6330 and ISO 5077 on the bulk fabric, colour fastness to perspiration by ISO 105-E04 on dark and printed colours, seam slippage and strength on stretch seams by ISO 13935-2, and elastane content checked by the ISO 1833 series against the label.

Trims and claims: zips on tracksuits checked for slider lock and pull strength against BS 3084, metal trims touching skin tested for nickel release by BS EN 1811, UPF claims on swimwear backed by a BS EN 13758-1 report, and children's swimwear and tracksuits with cords or drawstrings checked against BS EN 14682.

Garment audit: every size in the ratio measured against the spec sheet at the agreed AQL, linings, bust cups and elastic checked for position and recovery after a stretch, prints checked for cracking when stretched, and swing tags, fibre and care labels and polybag warnings checked before packing.

What goes wrong

Swimwear and tracksuits fail on stretch, colour and fit. Elastane loses its recovery after chlorine exposure so costumes sag, prints bleed or fade in sea water and sunlight, and pale fabrics go see-through when wet because the lining was dropped. Tracksuit fabric pills after a few washes, zips and cuffs fail, and size ranges graded from a different body shape cause returns.

Ask for chlorine resistance to ISO 105-E03, colour fastness to sea water to ISO 105-E02 and to light, stretch and recovery tests on the bulk fabric, check wet opacity on pale colours, test pilling to ISO 12945 and zip strength on tracksuits, check the fibre label against the composition test, and measure garments from every size against the size chart.

Minimums and seasons

Swimwear sells in spring and summer and skiwear in autumn, so plan production backwards from the selling season. Fabric minimums per colour and print usually set the order size.

Cambridge China Bridge sources own-label tracksuits, sportswear and swimwear, with fabric performance tests, labels and fit settled before production. See how our sourcing service works.