Sourcing women's dressing gowns from China

A flat 12% duty on woven dressing gowns

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 1 October 2026, heading 6208 covers women's or girls' woven nightwear, underwear, dressing gowns and similar articles. This guide focuses on women's woven dressing gowns, including cotton terry robes and woven satin styles. The listed dressing-gown lines carry 12% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no suspensions recorded. For underwear sourcing, see our women's woven camiknickers guide.

The other-textile lines 6208 99 00 91 and 6208 99 00 99 carry CITES import and export controls. If a gown contains material from a CITES-listed species, confirm the applicable documentation with your customs broker and the relevant authorities before ordering. For a controlled specimen entering Great Britain from China, the official guidance requires a permit application and contact with the exporting country's authority for the corresponding documentation.

Confirm the commodity code using the garment's fabric construction, fibre composition and any hand-printed batik treatment. Knitted women's nightwear belongs under heading 6108. See the women's woven nightwear and slips guide for the wider heading.

Specify the fabric, wrap and belt

Specify the fibre composition, woven construction, fabric weight and finish. Distinguish terry towelling from smooth cotton, viscose or satin fabrics. Agree garment length, sleeve length, chest measurement, front overlap, belt length, belt-loop position and pocket placement against a sealed sample. State measurement and shrinkage tolerances rather than accepting the factory's size names alone.

For adult dressing gowns, confirm the applicable nightwear fire-label wording, colour and any low-flammability testing requirements with the relevant authority. Fibre content must be labelled. Approve the fire and fibre label artwork before cutting, and agree care instructions with the wash performance you have checked. Use testing and certification support to agree the evidence required for the selected fabric and finish.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order: 500 women's cotton woven dressing gowns under 6208 91 00 19, invoiced at £6,000 free on board, with £800 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £6,800. Duty at 12% is £816. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £7,616, so it is £1,523.20. Import taxes total £2,339.20; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £816 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Fit and coverage: measure garments across the ordered sizes, check front overlap when tied, and compare sleeve and garment lengths with the approved size chart.

Belts and seams: check belt-loop attachment, pocket corners and underarm seams; examine satin and viscose seams for slippage and terry edges for loose loops.

Wash performance: wash samples using the agreed care instructions, then check shrinkage, twisting, surface appearance and colour transfer onto piping or lining.

Labels and packing: check fire label wording, colour and position against the approved artwork, verify fibre labels against the specification, and match garment sizes and belts to carton records.

What goes wrong

A robe can match the stated chest measurement yet leave too little overlap when worn. Short belts, weak belt loops and pockets sewn through the wrong layer also affect use. Compare a worn sample with the specification, and inspect attachment stitching on bulk garments.

Satin seams can open under tension, while cotton and viscose shrinkage can shorten the wrap and sleeves. Contrast piping may pick up colour in washing. Confirm the applicable fire-label requirements with the relevant authority and resolve any missing or incorrect label against those requirements. Check washed bulk samples and label artwork before dispatch.

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.