Sourcing women's woven nightwear and slips from China
Women's and girls' woven nightwear and underwear from China, including nightdresses, pyjamas, slips and dressing gowns, pays 12% UK duty, with no anti-dumping duty. Girls' nightdresses and dressing gowns must pass the flammability test in the Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985, and adult nightwear needs a fire label. Cambridge China Bridge sources woven nightwear.
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A flat 12%
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, women's or girls' woven slips and petticoats, nightdresses and pyjamas, négligés, bathrobes, dressing gowns and similar articles, and other woven underwear of heading 6208, in cotton, man-made fibres or other textiles, carried 12% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping measure. For camiknickers, see our women's woven camiknickers sourcing guide.
Knitted nightwear is in heading 6108, covered in the pyjamas guide, and bras in 6212, covered in the lingerie guide; confirm the commodity code from the fabric construction. For outdoor robes, see waterproof changing robe sourcing.
| Goods | Commodity code | Duty | Anti-dumping duty on China |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slips and petticoats of man-made fibres | 6208 11 00 00 | 12% | None |
| Nightdresses and pyjamas of cotton | 6208 21 00 00 | 12% | None |
| Nightdresses and pyjamas of man-made fibres | 6208 22 00 00 | 12% | None |
| Cotton négligés and dressing gowns, other | 6208 91 00 19 | 12% | None |
| Other cotton woven underwear | 6208 91 00 90 | 12% | None |
| Other, of man-made fibres | 6208 92 00 00 | 12% | None |
Nightwear fire rules and labels
The Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985 treat children's and adults' nightwear differently. Girls' nightdresses, nightshirts and dressing gowns must pass the flammability test; girls' pyjamas need not, but must carry the fire label if they do not meet it. Adult nightwear must be labelled either KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE in red or as meeting the low flammability test. Brushed and fleecy woven fabrics burn fastest, so choose fabric with the test in mind.
Fibre content must be shown with permitted names under the Textile Products (Labelling and Fibre Composition) Regulations 2012, with care instructions and sizes on the label artwork.
Worked duty example
For a made-up shipment of 4,000 women's cotton woven nightdresses under 6208 21 00 00, add the £1,800 of freight and insurance to the £22,000 free-on-board price and customs sees £23,800. At 12%, duty on these cotton nightdresses is £2,856; import VAT of £5,331.20 is 20% of the value with duty added. Together that is £8,187.20, but a VAT-registered importer usually gets the VAT back. The duty and VAT guide walks through the calculation.
Inspection checklist
Flammability and labels: girls' nightdresses, nightshirts and dressing gowns tested on the bulk fabric by the method the Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985 specify through BS 5722, and every adult and girls' style checked for the correct fire label wording, colour and position on the sealed sample before cutting.
Fabric performance: seam slippage of satin and viscose tested to ISO 13936-1, dimensional change after the care-label wash to ISO 6330 and ISO 5077, colour fastness to washing to ISO 105-C06 on printed and contrast-trimmed styles, and fibre content to the ISO 1833 series against the label.
Make-up and trims: garments from every size measured against the size chart, lace checked for unravelling and scratchiness, elastic stretch and recovery checked after washing, buttons pull-tested at an agreed load, and a final random inspection sampled to ISO 2859-1. For separate fabric belts, see our textile belts and garment parts guide.
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What goes wrong
Woven nightwear fails on fabric behaviour and trims. Viscose and satin slip at the seams, cotton lawn shrinks more than the size chart allows, and prints bleed onto lace or white piping in the first wash. Lace trims scratch or unravel, elastic in waistbands loses stretch, and a fire label that is missing or in the wrong colour puts a whole shipment on hold.
Test seam slippage, shrinkage and colour fastness to washing on the bulk fabric, have girls' styles tested for flammability to the regulations, check the fire label wording and colour against the regulations on every style, measure garments from every size, and check lace, elastic and button security at inspection.
Cambridge China Bridge sources women's and girls' woven nightdresses, pyjamas, slips and dressing gowns, with fabric tests, fire labels and flammability testing agreed before the order. Find out how we source nightwear and lingerie.
Frequently asked questions
What is the UK import duty on women's woven nightwear from China?
Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 25 September 2026, women's and girls' woven nightwear and slips of heading 6208 carried 12% duty from China.
Do girls' nightdresses need a flammability test?
Yes. Under the Nightwear (Safety) Regulations 1985, girls' nightdresses and dressing gowns must pass the flammability test.
What fire label does adult nightwear need?
KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE in red, or a label showing it meets the low flammability test.
Where does knitted nightwear go?
Knitted women's nightwear is in heading 6108, not 6208.