Used Clothing HS Code 6309 vs 6310: Importer Checklist

The used clothing HS code is not a single label for every secondhand or clearance item in a wholesale shipment. Heading 6309 may apply only when the listed articles show appreciable wear and are presented in bulk, bales, sacks, or similar packing. Heading 6310 covers used or new rags and specified scrap or worn-out textile cordage products, while new or unworn stock normally needs review under the appropriate product heading.

That distinction matters before you approve a quote or book freight. If wearable clothing, new stock, footwear, bags, and rags disappear into one line called “mixed used goods,” your broker may not have enough facts to review the declaration. This guide helps you prepare those facts; it does not assign a code to a live shipment or provide country duty rates.

Last verified: 24 August 2026. Always check the destination country’s current tariff schedule and customs guidance.

What Used Clothing HS Code 6309 Actually Covers

At the international level, heading 6309 is titled “worn clothing and other worn articles.” The title is only the starting point. Chapter 63 Note 3 limits the product scope and requires two facts at the same time:

1. The article shows signs of appreciable wear.
2. It is presented in bulk or in bales, sacks, or similar packing.

Neither fact replaces the other. A bale of unworn clearance jackets does not become 6309 goods just because it is compressed and exported wholesale. A visibly worn garment sent outside the specified bulk-type presentation also needs its own destination-country review.

“Appreciable wear” is about observable change caused by use, not simply age or a sales label. In CBP ruling HQ 960577, a U.S.-specific, fact-specific example, Customs discussed deterioration such as abrasion, fading, staining, holes, tears, or fraying. The ruling also explained that age, vintage status, or the number of times an article was worn does not settle the question. Do not turn the examples into a universal defect checklist: the condition of the actual goods and the destination authority’s interpretation still control.

For example, a jacket with use-caused abrasion that is packed in a wholesale bale presents facts relevant to both parts of the 6309 test. An unworn but shop-soiled jacket in the same packing does not gain use-caused wear from the bale. CBP ruling N340317 makes this distinction in a U.S. context and excludes new articles with production faults or shop-soiling from the ruling’s 6309 treatment.

Before requesting a code, record the product type, observable condition, and packing form separately. Photos may help explain condition, but they do not bind customs or replace a complete product description.

HS classification is also different from the policy question of whether a destination treats a consignment as reusable goods or textile waste. Review those controls separately in the used clothing export regulations guide.

How 6309 Differs from 6310—and Where New Stock Goes

The practical decision is not simply “used clothing or rags.” You may have three or more routes to investigate: qualifying worn articles under 6309, rags or specified textile-cordage scrap under 6310, and new or purpose-made products under their ordinary product headings.

Heading 6310 covers used or new rags; scrap twine, cordage, rope, and cables; and worn-out articles made from those textile cordage products. It also distinguishes sorted goods from the “other” branch. That wording does not mean every low-grade garment, damaged item, or cleaning cloth belongs in 6310.

HQ 960577 offers a useful U.S. example of the functional boundary. It distinguished articles that remain usable for their original purpose from textile articles so worn out, soiled, torn, or cut that they are generally useful only for fibre recovery or industrial wiping. This is helpful reasoning, but it is not a worldwide rule that “wearable equals 6309” and “unwearable equals 6310.” Construction, processing, packing, and national tariff notes can change the result.

The commercial name is not decisive either. In CBP ruling H298315, particular polyester products sold as industrial rags classified outside 6310 because their construction and the applicable U.S. tariff notes controlled. The safe lesson is simple: describe what the product is and how it was made, not only what the seller calls it.

Use the table to organize questions, not to select a final code. A still-usable worn sweatshirt, a torn cotton piece prepared for wiping, and an unworn clearance sweatshirt may sit in the same warehouse, yet they do not present the same classification facts.

Commercial grades have a separate job. Indetexx used-clothing product tiers help buyers discuss quality and resale expectations. Grade A, B, or C does not determine an HS heading, prove appreciable wear, or bind the destination authority.

If rags are part of the order, the mixed rags wholesale guide provides commercial product context. Keep that product discussion separate from the customs classification decision.

Split Clothes, Shoes, Bags, and Rags Before You Quote

Separate materially different product families before the supplier finalizes the quotation. This is easier than asking a broker to reverse-engineer a vague line after the goods are packed.

The Chapter 63 Note 3 list includes footwear and headgear of any material other than asbestos, as well as specified textile clothing and accessories. Those goods still need appreciable wear, the required bulk-type presentation, and destination confirmation. Handbags and travel bags are not in the Note 3 list, so they need a separate heading review rather than following the clothing line merely because they share a container.

Keep rags separate from wearable used clothing. Keep new inventory separate from worn clothing, even when the same reseller will sell both. The purpose is not to create unnecessary SKU-level paperwork. It is to preserve the differences that can change the classification review.

Use these product families as the minimum planning level when they are present. Your destination adviser may need more detail, but collapsing them into one “mixed used goods” line removes the facts needed for a useful review.

Indetexx can discuss order-specific category and Grade A/B/C definitions, as well as mixed or category-specific bales. Before quotation, ask for the current specification and require the new/used status, product family, condition boundary, packing, and exclusions in writing. That specification helps describe the goods; it does not select the HS code, prove appreciable wear, guarantee a product ratio, or make the entire bale eligible for 6309.

Once the specification is clear, you can review current used clothing wholesale options without confusing a commercial category with a customs category.

Align the Invoice, Packing List, and Bill of Lading

Your commercial and shipping documents have different functions, so they do not need to repeat every word. They must, however, describe the same actual shipment without hiding product differences.

Start with one factual chain:

buyer specification → supplier quotation → invoice line → packing-list line and weight → bill-of-lading description → proposed broker/customs line

At each step, preserve the product family, new/used status, relevant condition description, packing form, quantity, and net/gross weight. The proposed classification reference should come from the importer and destination adviser after they review those facts. It should not appear first on a supplier invoice and then force every other document to fit it.

This crosswalk is a buyer-defined control, not a universal document template. Carriers, banks, brokers, and customs authorities may request different fields. The goal is consistency about the goods, not identical wording in every box.

Indetexx supports 20ft and 40ft container planning and supplies clothing, footwear, bags, and mixed rags as distinct product families. Ask for the current loading plan and packing-list lines by family, packing form, quantity, and weight, then send the same factual description to your destination adviser before booking. Container planning does not choose the tariff code, guarantee the mix, promise document acceptance, or replace customs review.

Pause the Booking When Any Classification Gate Is Open

Do not book freight merely because a supplier, marketplace, or online database supplied a code. Pause when the goods, packing, national tariff line, or document descriptions remain materially unclear.

6309 and 6310 are four-digit headings, not complete destination codes. The HS is internationally standardized through six digits, according to the WTO HS glossary, and countries can add further digits for national tariff and statistical purposes. For example, the USITC explains that the U.S. schedule extends international headings into eight-digit rate lines and ten-digit reporting categories. Do not assume every country uses those same extensions or treatment.

Passing this checklist improves the evidence file. It does not guarantee a code, duty, permit, examination result, release time, or customs clearance.

If the same fact pattern will repeat and the outcome materially affects the trade, consider an advance ruling. The WCO describes advance rulings as written classification decisions available before import where a jurisdiction offers the procedure. Availability, evidence, cost, timing, and legal effect vary, so ask the destination authority or adviser whether the route is proportionate.

Country procedures remain a separate task. The Ghana used-clothing import checklist shows why a global HS explanation cannot replace destination-specific permits, valuation, taxes, and entry steps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is HS 6309 the same in every country?

The first six digits are internationally standardized, but countries can add national tariff and statistical suffixes. Notes, restrictions, duties, and documentary requirements can also differ. Confirm the current destination tariff line for the actual goods.

Can used shoes be classified under HS 6309?

Footwear of any material other than asbestos appears in the Chapter 63 Note 3 product list. To be considered under 6309, the goods must also show appreciable wear and use the required bulk-type presentation. Confirm the final treatment and national suffix with the destination adviser.

Are all industrial rags classified under HS 6310?

No. Heading 6310 covers used or new rags and specified scrap or worn-out textile cordage products, but construction, processing, material, condition, and applicable tariff notes still matter. CBP H298315 is a U.S. example of products marketed as industrial rags classifying elsewhere on their facts.

Can deadstock or overstock clothing use HS 6309?

The trade label is not enough. New or unworn inventory does not satisfy the appreciable-wear condition merely because it is old stock, defective, shop-soiled, or packed in bales. Review it under the appropriate product heading for its actual construction and material.

Who confirms the final HS code?

The supplier should provide accurate product, condition, packing, quantity, and weight facts. The importer and destination customs adviser use those facts to prepare the proposed classification, while the customs authority retains the final decision-making power under local law.