penalties on fast fashion: To help counteract the environmental impact of ultra-fast fashion products, which are supplied by firms like China’s Shein, a law demanding sanctions on these products was approved on Thursday by France’s lower house of parliament.

The measure prohibits the marketing of such items and proposes a graduated penalty system that may reach 10 euros per garment by 2030.

approve bill to apply penalties on fast fashion

It will have to pass the Senate before it can be signed into law, but all voting lawmakers gave it their unanimous approval.

While long-standing companies like Zara and H&M still depend heavily on consumer preference forecasting, upstarts like Shein and Temu have shaken up the retail industry by scaling up orders via demand-responsive, extremely flexible supply chains.

According to a statement Shein gave to Reuters, the company’s clothes regularly satisfy demand, allowing its rate of unsold items to stay in the low single digits. In contrast, established players can have waste rates of up to 40%.

“Worsen the purchasing power of French consumers, at a time when they are already feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis,” it continued, adding that the measure will have no effect whatsoever.

In an effort to address the growing issue of textile waste, the French environmental ministry recently announced plans to put a ban on the export of worn clothes inside the European Union. This measure is in response to such plans.