France Legislates Against 'Ultra-Fast Fashion' E-commerce: Proposes ?6 Fine per Item and Bans Related Marketing

Ebrun Original News, July 6th. Recently, the French Parliament passed a new bill that will impose per-item fines on "ultra-fast fashion" retailers and prohibit their advertising activities. This move aims to curb the negative environmental impact of low-cost, mass-produced clothing and strengthen the regulation of Chinese e-commerce platforms flooding into the European market.

In recent years, ultra-fast fashion retailers like Shein, along with e-commerce platforms such as Temu and AliExpress, have rapidly expanded in the French market by offering highly competitive prices and rapidly updating styles. This has placed significant pressure on local traditional retailers and prompted ongoing calls from French politicians for stricter regulatory measures.

The newly passed bill establishes criteria to identify businesses that release large volumes of new products in a short time and sell them at prices potentially lower than the cost of repair.

According to the bill, companies identified as "ultra-fast fashion" will face fines of up to ?6 per item starting this year, with this cap gradually increasing to ?10 per item by 2030.

Furthermore, the bill explicitly prohibits identified companies from advertising and promotional collaborations with influencers and content creators. However, the bill still requires the formal signature of the French President to become law.

Notably, French lawmakers have been seeking precise regulatory targeting while drafting this bill to avoid impacting European-based companies.

The bill is designed to target companies like Shein and Temu without subjecting traditional European fast-fashion brands such as Zara, H&M, and Mango to the same regulations. Although the latter also fall under the fast-fashion category, their product update cycles are typically significantly slower than platforms like Shein and Temu, thus they are not classified as "ultra-fast fashion."

Companies have responded differently to the bill's logic.

Shein denies that it should be categorized as an "ultra-fast fashion" company, stating that its business model involves producing small quantities of goods initially and replenishing inventory only after market demand is confirmed, making this model "part of the solution, not the problem."

Following the bill's passage, Shein stated it is reviewing the content and noted that some measures in the bill "still seem inconsistent with the European legal framework applicable to digital services and e-commerce," including the definition of "ultra-fast fashion," new obligations for online platforms, and the advertising ban.

Temu stated that it is an online e-commerce platform connecting consumers with manufacturers, a model that helps lower product prices and benefits consumers.

Foreign media analysis points out that this bill makes France the first European country to specifically legislate against the "ultra-fast fashion" business model. Although the EU has previously introduced regulations related to textile sustainability and online platform oversight, France's legislation is the first to take concrete measures directly targeting the business models of companies like Shein and Temu.

France's action comes as several European countries are responding to the rapid rise of Chinese e-commerce platforms.

In Italy, a bill proposed by lawmakers from Prime Minister Meloni's ruling coalition suggests establishing an environmental rating system for clothing, restricting advertising by ultra-fast fashion companies, and imposing additional fees on low-value parcels from outside the EU, though this bill has not yet been approved by parliament.

Last week, Germany, along with France and the Netherlands, called on the European Commission to further tighten unified EU regulatory rules against ultra-fast fashion.

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