France’s parliament votes to slow down fast fashion, with eye on China’s Shein
- Measures include a ban on advertising for the cheapest textiles and an environmental charge slapped on low-cost items
- High fashion is a cornerstone of the French economy, but the lower-end segment is losing ground to Chinese behemoths Shein and Temu
France’s parliament on Thursday backed a string of measures making low-cost fast fashion, especially from Chinese mass producers, less attractive to buyers.
The vote makes France the first country in the world “legislating to limit the excesses of ultra fast fashion”, said Christophe Bechu, minister for the ecological transition.
Key measures include a ban on advertising for the cheapest textiles, and an environmental charge slapped on low-cost items.
The French clothes market has been flooded with cheap imported clothes, while several home-grown brands have declared bankruptcy. But the main arguments put forward by Horizons – the party allied to President Emmanuel Macron submitting the draft law – were environmental.
“Textile is the most polluting industry,” said Horizons deputy Anne-Cecile Violland, saying the sector accounted for 10 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions and was a major polluter of water.
She singled out Chinese company Shein and its “7,200 new clothing items per day” as a prime example of intensive fashion production.
