Sourcing weighted blankets from China

2% duty on filled weighted blankets

Heading 9404 covers stuffed or internally fitted bedding and similar furnishing. For weighted blankets, identify whether the construction is a quilt or another filled bedding article. The table gives construction-dependent candidates, including feather or down combinations where applicable; it does not assign every weighted blanket to the same code.

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 5 October 2026, the listed lines carried 2% duty for goods from China, with no recorded anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspensions. The tariff attaches an import control on cat and dog fur: imports of that fur and products made from it are banned. Confirm the actual materials, including any fur trim.

Send the broker photographs, the layer construction, filling composition and details of any removable cover to confirm the commodity code. For the wider product family, see blankets and throws. Agree classification before costing the order.

Specify weight distribution and filling containment

Specify finished dimensions, total weight and tolerances, shell fabric, bead material, padding, pocket layout and seam construction. Record whether the cover is removable and how it attaches. Keep an approved sample and require written agreement before changes to beads, fabric or stitching.

Consumer products sold in Great Britain must be safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use. Assess the intended user, the ability to remove the blanket, access through cover openings and escape of filling. Agree care instructions and warnings from that assessment rather than copying another seller's wording.

Textile labels must show fibre content, including fur and other animal parts. Check the wording against the actual fabrics and keep the bead specification separate from textile fibre descriptions. Ask for testing and certification support tied to the production construction.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: 400 filled weighted blankets, assuming this classification; illustrative order and values under 9404 90 90 00, invoiced at £6,000 free on board, with £1,080 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £7,080. Duty at 2% is £141.60. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £7,221.60, so it is £1,444.32. Import taxes total £1,585.92; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £141.60 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Weight: weigh finished blankets against the agreed specification and check for empty pockets or local concentrations of beads.

Containment: flex and pull seams, inspect stitch gaps and look for escaped filling inside the cover and packaging.

Cover: check fit, attachment points and zip operation; wash samples using the proposed care instructions and recheck shrinkage and bead movement.

Arrival: inspect cartons for dampness, examine blankets for odour or mould, and match product labels and batch records to the approved construction.

What goes wrong

Correct total weight can hide uneven filling. Beads collect at edges when pocket seams open, shells abrade around the filling, and cover shrinkage makes the insert bunch. A loose attachment can let the insert slide inside a cover. Inspect the blanket after handling and washing, as well as when it first leaves its packaging.

A report for another fabric or pocket construction does not establish the performance of the delivered blanket. Compare production samples with the approved sample and resolve material substitutions before shipment. Keep unsupported sleep or therapeutic claims out of the buying specification.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification.