Sourcing Women's Tank Tops from China

Duty on women's knitted tank tops

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 6109 covers knitted or crocheted T-shirts, singlets and other vests. This guide focuses on women's tank tops. The table includes the neighbouring cotton T-shirt line for comparison; use the garment's construction and fibre composition to distinguish it from a cotton vest. See the wider cotton T-shirts guide. For thermal styles, see our guide to sourcing knitted thermal vests. For men's gym styles, see our knitted stringer vest sourcing guide.

All listed lines carry 12% duty on goods from China. The supplied tariff reading records no anti-dumping or countervailing measures and no suspensions. It attaches CITES import and export controls to the non-cotton lines. If the garment contains a CITES-listed specimen, including a part or derivative, permits are required for movement into or out of Great Britain. Contact the Chinese management authority for the corresponding permit and confirm the material-specific requirement with your customs broker.

Confirm the commodity code using a sample, fabric composition and construction details before ordering. For an illustrative cotton tank-top order, use the FOB and freight figures supplied in the worked example; the import duty and VAT guide explains the calculation.

Specify armholes, straps and fabric recovery

Agree whether the tank top is ribbed or plain jersey, its fibre composition, fabric weight, opacity and stretch recovery. Record bust width, body length, armhole depth, neckline depth and strap width on the size chart. Approve the fit on a wearer as well as the flat measurements. For compression styles, see our compression T-shirt sourcing guide. For netball teamwear, see our knitted netball jersey sourcing guide.

Specify binding construction at the neckline and armholes, strap attachment, hem finish and acceptable wash shrinkage. The fibre label must show the fibre content. Keep the label artwork consistent with the approved fabric specification, and agree care instructions and label placement before bulk production.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 2,000 women's cotton tank tops under 6109 10 00 90, invoiced at £7,000 free on board, with £700 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £7,700. Duty at 12% is £924. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £8,624, so it is £1,724.80. Import taxes total £2,648.80; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £924 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Fit: measure each sampled size against the approved chart, checking armhole depth, neckline position and strap symmetry.

Fabric: compare shade across cartons, check opacity when stretched and assess whether the fabric returns to shape after stretching.

Seams: stretch the armhole binding and strap joins gently, checking skipped stitches, broken thread, puckering and exposed raw edges.

Wash and labels: wash samples using the agreed care method, remeasure them and check twisting, binding distortion and fibre labels during inspection.

What goes wrong

Armholes can gape despite a correct bust measurement. Tight binding pulls the neckline out of shape, while weak strap joins open under tension. Pale fabrics can become transparent when stretched, and ribbed fabric can remain stretched after wear.

Approve a washed fit sample before bulk production and keep it for comparison. On arrival, compare garments across sizes and cartons, rather than judging the shipment from the top garment alone. Record shade differences, twisted side seams and measurements outside the agreed tolerances.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For own-brand ranges, see sourcing for brands.