Day 17: France made a bold move against fast fashion, now will other countries follow?

6/16/2024

Day 17: France made a bold move against fast fashion, now will other countries follow?

France’s National Assembly unanimously passed a bill targeting the fast fashion industry in March, marking a rare consensus in a parliament often divided. This legislation seeks to impose strict regulations and penalties on low-cost clothing to address its significant environmental impact.

The new bill aims to curb the practices of fast-fashion giants, such as Shein and Temu, by setting a threshold for the number of products a company can release daily.

Companies exceeding this limit will be required to display messages on their websites about the economic, social, health and environmental impacts of their products. These messages must be placed near the pricing information on all relevant product pages.

“Fast fashion brands will be required to prominently display messages on their online platforms, informing consumers about the economic, social, health, and environmental ramifications of swiftly changing fashion collections,” explains Sacha Bettach, an associate at law firm Bird & Bird.

Additionally, the bill bans all forms of advertising for fast fashion products, including influencer partnerships. Violations of this ban could result in fines of up to €100,000 starting in 2025.

The legislation introduces an eco-point system to evaluate fashion companies. Brands that perform poorly in terms of environmental impact will face initial penalties of €5 per item, increasing to €10 by 2030. Companies must also encourage recycling and clearly state the environmental impact of their products, or risk fines of up to €15,000.

Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu has been a vocal advocate, describing ultra-fast fashion as “an ecological disaster” and celebrating the bill as “a major breakthrough” in reducing the textile sector’s environmental footprint, in a series of posts on X.

Julia Faure, president of the sustainable fashion group En Mode Climat, told DW she sees the bill as “great news” but called for vigilance to ensure the defined thresholds for fast fashion companies are appropriate. She stressed the importance of rewarding sustainable practices and penalising those that harm the environment.

Also speaking to DW, Gildas Minvielle, director of the Economic Observatory at the Institut Français de la Mode, said a trial-and-error approach should be used to determine the most effective measures. “This is uncharted territory — we need to test what works and what doesn’t,” he said.

The bill now moves to the Senate for further approval and is expected to come into effect in the coming months. As France leads the charge against fast fashion, other countries are watching closely.

Everything I wore on Day 17 of the 90 days of Shein challenge: