Wadding, cotton wool and flock from China

2% or 4% duty

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, wadding of cotton, absorbent or not, carried 2%; wadding of man-made fibres carried 2% in rolls up to 8 mm diameter and 4% otherwise, which covers most polyester wadding; other wadding 2%; and textile flock, dust and mill neps 2%. There was no anti-dumping measure.

Two flock lines are suspended to 0% to the end of 2028: poly(vinyl alcohol) fibre flock (5601 30 00 10) and a listed aramid short fibre of 7 mm or less under 5601 30 00 90. Loose polyester fibre fill is heading 5503, covered in our polyester staple fibre guide; medicated or retail-packed dressings go to heading 3005, covered in our dressings guide. Confirm the commodity code.

Fire tests for fillings

Wadding sold as a filling for domestic upholstered furniture, cushions and pillows in the UK must meet the applicable ignitability requirements for non-foam filling materials in the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, so ask for a test report on the exact wadding, including any flame-retardant treatment, and keep it with each batch.

Quilting wadding and cotton wool sold to consumers must be safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005; cotton wool sold for wound care may be a medical device.

Worked duty example

An invented example rather than a quote: 8 tonnes of polyester quilt and upholstery wadding in rolls, commodity code 5601 22 90 00, bought for £14,000 free on board, with £2,200 of freight and insurance, so £16,200 is the value customs works from. Duty at the 4% rate for polyester wadding is £648. VAT at 20% applies to £16,848, so £3,369.60. A VAT-registered buyer usually recovers the VAT, so the border adds £648 to the landed cost. See calculating UK import duty and VAT for the method.

Inspection checklist

Weight and thickness: weigh cut samples from several rolls for mass per unit area against the ordered gsm, measure thickness under the agreed pressure, and check loft recovery after compressing a sample for the time agreed in the order. For felt sheets, see our felt sourcing guide.

Fire and fibre: check the ignitability test report names the wadding type, weight and treatment supplied, check the fibre composition label, and for bonded wadding check there is no strong odour from the resin or thermal bonding.

Cotton wool and flock: check cotton wool for whiteness, foreign matter and absorbency against the approved sample, check flock length and linear density against the specification, and check rolls are wrapped and compressed as agreed.

What goes wrong

Wadding fails on weight, loft and fire paperwork. Rolls come in lighter than the ordered gsm, wadding flattens and does not recover after vacuum compression in the container, fibres migrate through the cover fabric, and filling arrives without an ignitability report for the actual material. Cotton wool contains specks and seeds or does not absorb.

Weigh samples, check loft after decompression, match the fire report to the product, and check cotton wool against the sample. See our quality inspection guide.

Cambridge China Bridge sources polyester and cotton wadding, cotton wool and flock for upholsterers, quilting suppliers and beauty brands. If your current wadding supplier is drifting on weight or loft, see adding a second supplier.