Sourcing woven chenille from China

UK duty on woven chenille upholstery fabric

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 24 October 2026, heading 5801 covers woven pile fabrics and chenille fabrics. The listed Chinese-origin lines all carry 8% duty, with no anti-dumping or countervailing duty and no tariff suspension recorded. Cotton chenille has separate handloom and other lines; man-made fibre chenille has its own line.

The selected cotton, man-made fibre and flax lines have no import controls recorded. Elsewhere in the heading, the tariff attaches CITES import controls to wool or fine animal hair and the residual other-materials line, and export controls to those lines, silk and ramie. For a controlled species derivative sourced from China, check the applicable CITES documentation with your customs broker before ordering.

Give your broker the fibre composition, woven construction and backing details to confirm the commodity code. A supplier's description of 'chenille' alone is insufficient. See the velvet and corduroy guide for the wider heading.

Specify the chenille yarn, weave and backing

Specify the fibre blend of the chenille yarn and ground yarns, usable width, weight per square metre, yarn appearance, weave, backing and finish. Agree colour against a retained sample and assess it in the intended pile direction. State whether the fabric is for domestic furniture or contract upholstery, and agree abrasion, rubbing, seam slippage and cleaning tests before production.

For domestic upholstered furniture, confirm with Trading Standards or a qualified compliance adviser whether the furniture fire safety regulations apply, which cigarette and match resistance requirements are relevant, and whether a compliant fire-resistant interliner can replace match testing for the proposed permanent cover. Ask for reports covering the actual fabric and back-coating. Fabric sold by the metre to consumers needs fibre composition information; chenille describes construction rather than fibre content.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order of polyester chenille upholstery fabric rolls under 5801 36 00 00, invoiced at £4,240 free on board, with £3,000 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £7,240. Duty at 8% is £579.20. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £7,819.20, so it is £1,563.84. Import taxes total £2,143.04; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £579.20 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Appearance: compare rolls against the approved sample in the same direction and lighting; check shade variation, exposed ground yarns, missing chenille tufts and weaving streaks.

Performance: check shedding, abrasion, dry and wet rubbing, seam slippage and dimensional change after the agreed cleaning method.

Backing: inspect coating coverage, adhesion and handle; match the supplied construction and finish to the fire test sample.

Roll identification: check usable width, measured length, dye-lot identification and fibre information; keep cut samples linked to each inspected roll.

What goes wrong

Chenille can look acceptable as a small swatch yet show shading across adjacent upholstery panels. Loose pile fibres shed, open ground weaves slip at seams, and rubbing can transfer dye onto clothing. Compare joined panels and sewn samples before approving bulk fabric.

A change in yarn, backing or finish can leave the delivered fabric different from the approved test sample. Record the agreed construction and retain production samples so that coating gaps, changed handle or unexpected cleaning shrinkage can be investigated.

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.