Sourcing women's dresses and knitwear from China

12% across the knitted range

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, knitted women's dresses of cotton, synthetic or artificial fibres, and knitted skirts, trousers and jackets of synthetic fibres, all carried 12% duty on goods from China. None carried an anti-dumping measure.

Knitted and woven garments sit in different chapters of the tariff: a jersey dress is in chapter 61, a woven one in chapter 62. The fabric construction, not the style, decides the code, so confirm the commodity code for each style against the fabric specification, and price the landed cost with the duty included. For coated knitted garments, see our wetsuits and coated rainwear guide.

The fibre label

Article 14 of Regulation 1007/2011, as it applies in Great Britain, requires textile products to be labelled or marked with their fibre composition whenever they are made available on the market, and the label must be durable, easily legible, visible and accessible, and securely attached if it is a label. Put the composition in the trim specification, and check it against the fabric test at inspection.

Retailers also expect care instructions and size labelling in their own format, so agree the full label set, sewn-in and swing tag, before production; the labels and swing tags guide covers the options.

Fit, grading and shrinkage

Most womenswear problems are fit problems. Approve a fit sample on a model or form in your base size, then a size set across the range, and give the factory a written grade rule, how each measurement changes between sizes, rather than leaving the grading to its pattern maker. For culotte styles, see our women's knitted culottes sourcing guide.

Knitted fabrics move after washing. Ask for a shrinkage and twist test on the bulk fabric before cutting, and colourfastness tests for dark and printed fabrics, because a dress that shrinks a size in its first wash comes back.

Worked duty example

For a made-up shipment of 5,000 knitted polyester dresses under 6104 43 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 knitted dresses 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. A woven version of the same dress sits in chapter 62, where rates can differ, so check the fabric construction. The duty and VAT guide walks through the calculation.

Inspection checklist

Colour fastness: test washing to ISO 105-C06, rubbing to ISO 105-X12 and perspiration to ISO 105-E04 on each colourway, and light to ISO 105-B02 for summer ranges, against the grades in the order.

Stretch and strength: for jersey and stretch knits, test elongation and recovery to BS EN 14704-1, and bursting strength to ISO 13938-2 on the body fabric of production pieces. For cycling shorts, see our women's cycling shorts sourcing guide. For tennis skirts, see our women's knitted tennis skirts sourcing guide. For tennis dresses, see our knitted tennis dresses sourcing guide. For jogger styles, see our women's knitted joggers sourcing guide.

Trims and chemicals: test nickel release to BS EN 1811 on metal buttons, poppers and zip pullers against entry 27 of UK REACH Annex XVII, and ask for azo dye results against entry 43 for each dyed or printed fabric.

What goes wrong

Knitted womenswear fails on fit, fabric movement and labels. Garments grade badly across sizes, side seams twist and hems ride up after washing, and dresses shrink a size because the fabric was not relaxed before cutting. Fibre labels are wrong, such as bamboo viscose labelled as bamboo, pilling appears after a few wears, seams pucker or slip, and prints crack or bleed.

Measure garments from each size against the grade rule, wash-test shrinkage and twist to ISO 6330 and ISO 5077 on production pieces, test fibre composition to BS EN ISO 1833 and check the label wording against the listed fibre names, test pilling to ISO 12945, check seam strength and print durability, and run a final inspection on a statistical sample before shipment.

Minimums and timing

The minimum order usually comes from the fabric, not the sewing line: a mill dyes by the batch, so each colour has its own minimum, and a printed fabric adds a print minimum. Stock fabrics lower the minimum; own colours and prints raise it. The MOQ and sampling guide covers how to negotiate the first order.

Retailers and brands increasingly ask for an ethical audit of the sewing factory; see ethical audits. Cambridge China Bridge sources own-label womenswear, from fit sampling and grading to fabric testing and inspection before shipment. See how our sourcing service works.

Related guides: Sourcing pyjamas and nightwear from China and Sourcing caps and hats from China. For hosiery, see our fashion tights sourcing guide. For men's ranges, see our men's underwear and loungewear guide.

Hoodies and sweatshirts are a different heading, 6110, also at 12%; see our hoodies and sweatshirts guide. For cotton tops, see sourcing cotton T-shirts.