Yoga mats from China

2% or 6% depending on classification

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 26 September 2026, articles and equipment for general physical exercise carried 2% duty on goods from China, rubber floor coverings and mats 2%, and other articles of plastics 6%, with no anti-dumping measure on any of them. Yoga mats are commonly entered as exercise equipment, but the A–Z index does not name them, and a plain mat of cellular plastic can be argued as an article of plastics.

Because the difference is 4 percentage points, ask HMRC for an advance tariff ruling on your mat and keep it with your import records, and confirm the commodity code. Blocks, straps and bolsters are classified separately. Our fitness equipment guide covers weights and machines.

Chemicals and product safety

Mats are in long skin contact, so chemical limits matter. UK REACH Annex XVII entry 51 restricts the phthalates DEHP, DBP, BBP and DIBP to 0.1% by weight in plasticised material of articles, which is the main risk for PVC mats, and entry 50 limits eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to 1 mg/kg in rubber or plastic parts in prolonged skin contact, which matters for rubber and recycled mats. Natural rubber mats should warn about latex.

The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 cover slip, odour and durability claims, and claims such as non-toxic, eco-friendly or recyclable must be accurate under consumer protection law. Carry bags and straps are usually textile articles with their own fibre labels.

Worked duty example

Take a hypothetical order of 3,000 logo-printed TPE yoga mats, entered under 9506 91 90 00: £15,000 free on board plus £2,500 of freight and insurance gives a customs value of £17,500. The 2% duty on yoga mats comes to £350, and import VAT is 20% of £17,850, which is £3,570. If you are VAT-registered you normally reclaim the £3,570, leaving £350 as the real cost at the border. If the mats were instead classified as articles of plastics under 3926 90 97 90, duty would be 6%, which is why the classification should be confirmed before costing. Step by step: UK import duty and VAT.

What goes wrong

Yoga mats fail on material, grip and print. A PVC mat contains restricted phthalates, rubber mats smell strongly or fail a PAH test, TPE mats are thinner or lighter than the sample, surfaces become slippery with sweat, mats tear at the edges or flake after weeks of use, and screen-printed logos crack or rub off. Rolled mats arrive creased or curling at the ends.

Test each material and colour for phthalates and PAHs at an accredited lab, measure thickness and weight on samples from each lot, test tensile strength to ISO 1798 and compression set to ISO 1856 for foam mats, check wet and dry grip by a practical slip test against the approved sample, rub-test logos, and specify rolling and packing that stops curling.

Cambridge China Bridge sources PVC, TPE, rubber and cork yoga mats for fitness brands and studios, with chemical testing and logo durability agreed before production. See our fitness product sourcing.