HS Code for Hoodies and Pullovers

If you have to mention one of the most wearable casual outfits to go, a hoodie jacket would be one of the first things to come to mind. Not only does it provide warmth, but it is also stylish, youthful, and neutral. All genders can wear hoodies effortlessly. In no time, demand for hoodies in the global market skyrocketed. Many experienced textile manufacturers produced this as a staple product, with abundant modifications: designs, colours, and added features. Now, what is the HS code for hoodies? It could be tricky at first, but once you understand the definition, it will be clear in no time. 

What is the actual meaning of hoodie? 

The term “hoodie” actually stemmed from the word “hood”, which refers to the existence of an attached cap or hood on the rim of the back-neckline. It is designed to provide extra warmth and protection for the wearer’s neck and head, particularly from cold, wind, or rain. The existence of a hood distinguishes it from the so-called sweatshirt. 

The two are often mentioned interchangeably as if they are identical, yet in fact, both are different types of garment products. Only, those two are often made from the same materials with similar thickness and cuts to provide warmth. Hoodies are mostly made from cotton, but manufacturers could modify them by mixing them with polyester, wool, or fleece. The materials are important later when you want to determine the correct HS code for hoodies. 

The other similar products to hoodies

Other than sweatshirts, hoodies are often mistaken for several other garment products, such as windbreakers and coats. They are both often categorized as general jackets/outer, and some have extra hoods or caps which are similar to hoodies. Yet, they are different in cuts and common material. Windbreakers are mostly made with nylon or polyester, which makes them lightweight and slightly damp-proof, if not waterproof. This material also makes them fall under a different Chapter in the World Customs Organization (WCO) HS code. Meanwhile, cotton hoodies have better sweat absorption function and are generally categorised within knitted or crocheted garment products. 

Hoodies are also easily distinguished from coats and cloaks by their design and function. Hoodies are designed as casual, rather sporty outfits, meanwhile coats and cloaks are designed to give you an elegant and sleek look. However, hoodies often come in the form of pullovers. It is similar to a sweatshirt, which is worn by pulling it over your head, as there is no button or zip available within the assembled design. Designers and manufacturers often attach a hood to provide extra comfort and function. 

In addition to that, hoodies can also be known as tracksuits. A tracksuit is actually a sporty outfit which comes as a set of matched sweatshirt and pants. Again, the sweatshirts may have an added hood or cap, which allows them to be categorized as hoodies. Thus, you can distinguish a hoodie from other forms of jackets/outerwear. 

What is the HS code for hoodies?

According to the WCO definition, hoodies can be both part of knitted garments. This is due to the fact that it is mostly made of woven materials such as cotton, fleece, polyester or French terry. Under this definition, the HS code for hoodies falls under Chapter 61, which covers apparel and clothing accessories (knitted or crocheted). Based on the definition we agree before, hoodies can be categorized below. 

Hoodies types	HS Code
Pullovers (made from cottons)	6110.20
Pullovers (made from wool)	6110.11
Pullovers (made from man-made fibres)	6110.30
Pullovers (made from other textile materials)	6110.90
Track suits (made from cotton)	6112.11
Track suits (made from synthetic fibres)	6112.12
Track suits (made from other textile materials)	6112.19

Therefore, there are two key factors to determine the HS code for hoodies and other similar products:

• Types of products: Several hoodies need to be understood to classify the HS code, such as track suits or pullovers. 
• Materials: Some hoodies or other similar products are made from different materials, and some of the hoodies are made form combination of two or more components or materials. 

The biggest hoodie players in the global trade  

Before meddling in the hoodies business, you may want to check the market conditions. Here are some sheetfacts you may use to see the biggest players in the hoodies trade. Top exporters of cotton pullovers, jerseys, and cardigans with HS code 6110.20 in 2024 are shown in the table below.

Countries	Trade Value (USD)
China	6,008,127,242
Germany	1,521,670,798
Italy	1,443,311,646
Turkiye	1,277,368,760
Cambodia	971,802,709

Source: UN Comtrade Database, accessed 

From the provided data above, it shows that China has been crowned as the biggest exporting country of cotton pullovers, jersey, and cardigans in the world, with a valuation of more than 6 million USD. It is followed by Germany and Italy as the biggest sellers of these products. Moreover, the fourth and fifth biggest exporters of products with HS code 611020 are Turkiye and Cambodia. 

After grasping the largest exporters of the hoodies under the HS code 611020, we might need to know where those products are destined. These are the largest importers of cotton pullovers with HS code  6110.20 in 2024 from the UN Comtrade Database. 

Countries	Trade Value (USD)
United States	7,411,194,726
Germany	2,388,816,529
Japan	1,441,994,674
France	1,338,740,961
Spain	1,194,330,188

Source: UN Comtrade Database, accessed 

The data above also show the dynamics of cotton apparel trade in the form of a sport/casual outfit. You may see that the top exporters are concentrated in developing countries with renowned (relatively) cheap labour, while the biggest consumers or importers are centralized in developed countries with well-known fashion brands, both sports and luxury lines, such as Germany, the United States, Japan, France, and Spain. 

Finding the HS code for hoodies with HSCodeMatch

Finding the accurate HS code for hoodies or other clothing products is indeed challenging. You need to put extra attention on classifying the products based on their materials, functions, and other criteria. This process is crucial to guarantee that your products can enter the destination country without finding any problems.  

In order to ease the complexity of looking up the HS code or HTS tariff code for hoodies, HSCodeMatch exist to help you. This application is equipped with an AI engine to help you find and match the accurate HS code for your products instantly. These are the step-by-step guides for finding the HS code for hoodies from cotton under 611020 with HSCodeMatch. 

• First step: Open the HSCodeMatch application on your web browser by accessing hscodematch.com. Choose the HS Code Search to find the HS code for hoodies. Then fill the HS code 611020 and the origin and destination country using one of the largest exporters and importers, such as Turkiye to Germany. 

• Second step: Click the search button on HS Code Search and choose one of the most relevant HS codes for your products. Based on the example, the most relevant are located in the first row with code 6110201000. 

• Third step: Once you enter the HS Code Details page, you can see the HS code for hoodies description and tariff rate. From the page, we can see that the general import duty from Turkiye to Germany is 12%. 

• Fourth step: On the lower section of the HS Code Details, you can find the regulations and detailed tariff rates. On the right side, there is a provided AI chatbot assistant from HSCodeMatch to help you if there is any confusion. 

Are there any additional tariffs for exporting products with HS code 6110201000 from Turkiye to Germany?

Exporting products under the HS code 6110201000 from Turkiye to Germany is not subject to the additional tariff rates. The exemption of tariff rate for industrial goods because Germany are the member of the European Union (EU), which has an agreement with Turkiye under the Customs Union. If there is no Customs Union, the standard tariff rate for importing hoodies to Germany is 12% based on the Most Favoured Nations (MFN) regime. Meanwhile, all of countries in the Customs Union have advantages to reduce tariffs to 0% for some goods, including hoodies under the HS code 6110201000. This is the list of tariff rates for general import duty and preferential duty rates in Germany. 

Tariff Type	Applicable Rate
Most Favoured Nations (MFN) Tariff or General Tariff	12%
Customs Union Tariff	0%

What are the key standards or compliance requirements for knitted apparel HS code 6110201000 under the EU-Turkey Customs Union?

The registration requirement is the mandatory compliance standard for exporting knitted apparel, HS code 6110201000, under the EU-Turkey Customs Union. This is written under Communique 2020/9, which states that all importers of clothing, textile, and apparel products must comply with the Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters’ Association (ITHIB). This is the requirement for exporting these products into the EU market, including Germany. The implementation of registration to ensure that the textile import can be under surveillance and traceability. 

Requirement	Description	Implementation Date
Online Registration	Mandatory registration from ITHIB for all of the textile or apparel exporters in Turkey	1 September 2020

How does the EU-Turkey Customs Union address quality control standards for textiles?

The EU and Turkey Customs Union requires Turkey to address technical legislation, especially in quality control standards. The standard must align with the EU customs tariffs and rules. This alignment was implemented in order to ensure that the textiles imported from Turkey meet the quality, safety, and technical standards in the EU. To help improve the quality standard, Turkey also mandated the online registration for all textile exports to the EU countries. Here is the breakdown of the EU-Turkey Customs Union to ensure the quality standard. 

Aspects	Requirements
Alignment with the EU standards	Turkey must align with the technical legislation, such as quality control, safety, and technical standard with the EU customs tariff and rules.
Registration on requirements	Textile importers must registers to the Istanbul Textile and Apparel Authority website.

Conclusion 

As part of knitted textile products, hoodies are generally regulated within Chapter 61 of the WCO Harmonised System (HS). The chapter does not mention hoodies directly, but you can use common sense to determine which hoodie-like products can also be classified as hoodies, such as pullovers and tracksuits. Once you find them, you get an accurate HS code for hoodies based on the materials used. Each code refers to different materials, from cotton and wool to other fibres. Thus, the most important things to do for looking up the HS code for hoodies are understand their components. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the HS code for hoodies

1. What is the HS code for hoodies that are made from non-woven materials? 

If your hoodies are made of non-knitted fabric, you may check the WCO Harmonised System Chapter 62. That chapter covers all clothing made of non-woven fabric. Traders of hooded windbreakers or windcheaters may use HS code 6201 (for men/boys) or 6202 (for women/girls). However, this is a rare case as most hoodies are designed with woven garments. 

2. Does the existence of zippers affect the HS code for hoodies? 

Zippers do not affect the HS code for hoodies in general. Zipped up and pullover hoodies normally have the same HS code, the subheadings of HS code refer to the materials instead. 

3. Does gender affect the HS code for hoodies? 

Generally not, but it does affect HS code for several outerwears (overcoats, car-coats, capes, cloaks, anoraks, ski-jackets, wind-cheaters, wind-jackets) and suits (dresses, overalls, blazers, pants, trousers). 

4. Is the HS code for sweatshirts the same as that for hoodies? 

Yes, it falls under pullovers category as they are generally made by the same cuts, design, and fabric, despite the 

5. What is the common HS code for hoodies? 

Most hoodies are made of cotton, which make it fall under HS code 6110.20, but it could also be potentially made of other fibres such as fleece, which makes them classified within HS code 6110.30. Again, materials are the key to get 6 digits of accurate HS codes for hoodies.