“I wish I could say that these anti-fast fashion policies are born out of concerns about the environment and protecting young people from aggressive marketing, but to a large extent they reflect conservative, anti-China and protectionist attitudes,” said Elizabeth Klein, a professor of fashion policy, consumerism and sustainability at Columbia University.
The vague definition of “fast fashion”
As it stands, the fast fashion bill has left some critics with more questions than answers.
Greg Tarkova, a partner at DLA Piper who advises consumer goods clients on marketing and advertising issues, said it’s unclear at this point which segments of clothing retailers would be affected by the proposed law. He explained that the bill uses vague definitions of fast fashion in language that is open to interpretation. According to the bill’s language, a fast fashion business is one that distributes or sells large quantities of clothing, a criterion that the French government will determine once the bill clears the bill’s remaining parliamentary hurdles, Tarkova said. The criterion takes into account the number of new clothing items a business launches each day, or the number of different styles and the short period of time they are sold.
Depending on the threshold applied, Tulquois said the bill could apply only to ultra-fast fashion disruptors like Shein and Temu, or it could also target more traditional fast fashion companies, potentially rolling in Zara and H&M. “Some non-governmental environmental groups have already said they will lobby to have the new law applied to the following companies: [the] “The fast fashion and ultra-fast fashion categories,” he added.
Dr. Shen Lu, associate professor and dean of graduate studies at the University of Delaware’s School of Fashion and Apparel, said the bill’s definition of fast fashion is vague and there is little clarity about who is responsible for tracking clothing companies’ sales to determine whether they fall into the category.
These price fluctuations make the prospects of using price to judge fast fashion even more uncertain, as fashion retailers adjust prices frequently, sometimes several times a week, and slash prices during holiday seasons to boost sales, said Lu, who believes it would be “very difficult” to define the scope of products subject to additional fines and to collect these fees.
David Hachfeld, a textile expert at Swiss environmental and social watchdog Public Eye, said it would be difficult in practice to see so many new styles in a given period of time as an alternative to fast fashion. “That’s an oversimplified view of the phenomenon. [of ] “It’s fast fashion,” he says.
Is that legal?
The proposal could put France in a legal bind, Roux said, especially if the government has an interest in prioritizing domestic industries at the expense of others.
