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France’s fast fashion bill targets retail giants, which lawmakers say damage the environment, hurt the economy and encourage impulse buying.
On March 14, France’s lower house of parliament unanimously approved a “Kill Bill” targeting fast and ultra-fast fashion sold by online retail giants such as Shein and Temu. The measure seeks to offset the fast fashion industry’s environmental impact by banning advertising from certain ultra-fast fashion companies and imposing fines of up to 10 euros (8.54 pounds or 10.92 dollars) per garment per year until 2030. The bill also requires fast fashion retailers to list how their products are reused, repaired, recycled and impact the environment next to their prices.
What is fast fashion?
Fast fashion is generally thought of as low-quality apparel. It is rapidly produced to match current industry trends and sold at very low prices. Fast fashion allows cost-conscious consumers to regularly update and expand their wardrobe with trendy knock-offs. While the financial cost is low, experts say both textile workers and the global environment are paying a high price.
“When it comes to price, it’s important for people to recognize that fast fashion prices are artificially low,” said Emily Stockl, vice president of advocacy and community engagement at Remake, a nonprofit that promotes sustainable fashion.
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(Credit: Getty Images)
“It’s essentially being subsidized by the fact that these companies are not paying their workers enough. [fast fashion pricing] The standard of clothing that consumers expect is man-made construction.”
Stoeckl likens the addictive nature of tobacco to the impact fast fashion has had on consumers, citing past advertising bans such as those in the US in the 1970s and the UK in the early 2000s. France’s new bill uses similar language, stating: “The evolution of the clothing industry towards ephemeral fashion, combining increasing quantities with low prices, has created a purchasing impulse and a need for constant renewal, influencing consumer buying habits, not without negative consequences for the environment, society and the economy.”
Shane, Tem, and the impact of new policies
In a statement to the BBC, fast fashion giant SHEIN, which was founded in China and is headquartered in Singapore, argued that the impact of the bill would “worsen the purchasing power of French consumers who are already feeling the effects of the cost of living crisis”.
Ultra-fast fashion brands represent the “insane excess” the fashion industry is witnessing in terms of speed and volume, says Kathleen Talbot, chief sustainability officer and vice president of operations at Reformation, an eco-friendly brand beloved by the likes of Taylor Swift, Monica Lewinsky and Sydney Sweeney. She adds that it will be hard to slow excessive consumption in a market where demand is boiling over and never subsides, so using regulation as a tool for change may be the only option.
How can we create incentives for good actors, or conversely tax bad actors, to force brands to pay for negative externalities? – Kathleen Talbot
“What’s interesting about the French bill and regulations like the New York Fashion Law is that they have similar objectives,” Talbot says. “We’re asking the big question of how do we take into account fashion’s negative impacts on people and the planet? How do we incentivize good actors and tax bad actors, making brands pay for negative externalities? I wish it were easier. What we’re seeing is very place-specific, siloed efforts.”
“But I think this is a start,” Talbot added. “Hopefully, [it] It can serve as a model or help other regulators consider these issues and what role regulation can play in addressing the challenges facing the industry.”
In working to bring about lasting change through policy reform, Stoeckl points out that key workers in clothing manufacturers and textile waste management are the ones most affected by fast fashion and are at the heart of the legislation’s development.
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Textile workers bear the brunt of ultra-fast fashion brands’ cost-cutting measures (Photo: Getty Images)
“Lawmakers should ensure that the funds raised from these fines flow to where the environmental impacts are occurring,” Stoeckl continued. “For example, frontline communities that experience the greatest environmental impacts from fast fashion are often communities in the Global South. Fines are levied to address environmental impacts, but how are those funds distributed to the frontline communities that are most affected? As far as I can tell, this policy does not address those issues.”
TEM says it “strictly prohibits” the use of forced, punitive and child labor by any of its merchants.
In 2021, a report by Swiss human rights group Public Eye found that some SHEIN employees were working 75-hour weeks at six locations in Guangzhou. And in 2023, a group of US lawmakers called for an investigation into SHEIN over allegations that it uses forced labor from China’s ethnic Turkic Uighurs to make some of the clothes it sells. SHEIN told the BBC it has a “zero tolerance” stance on forced labor.
A Tem spokesman told the BBC the brand was “aware of the important environmental issues addressed in the French bill”, and insisted it did not operate as a fast fashion company as it was a marketplace and did not manufacture its own products.
Both Tem and Shane told the BBC that an on-demand business model cuts down on waste compared to traditional models.
