Star Metro - French Senate adopts bill to regulate fast fashion

The bill is targeted at Chinese-founded e-commerce giant Shein, which has a reputation for selling lower quality clothes at a very low price.

Easy to order and to replace, fast fashion items are exported to France on a large scale, causing pollution and saturating markets.

The bill, which had been adopted by the lower house, the National Assembly, in March 2024, was passed by the Senate on Tuesday afternoon, with 337 votes for and only one against.

The vote is not the final legislative hurdle: a joint committee of senators and lower house deputies is expected to meet from September to produce a joint text, prior to the final adoption of the law.

Before final adoption, the European Commission also has to be notified, to ensure the bill complies with EU law.

The bill "is a major step in the fight against the economic and environmental impact of fast fashion, and a strong signal sent to businesses and to consumers," said the minister for ecological transition, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, after the vote's results were announced.

The text plans to "reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry", said Anne-Cecile Violland, the centre-right member of parliament who proposed the bill.

Fast fashion is a growing market in France, and between 2010 and 2023 the value of advertised products in the sector grew from 2.3 billion euros to 3.2 billion euros.

Around 48 clothing items per person are released into the French market each year, and 35 are thrown away every second in the country, according to the state environmental agency Ademe.

- 'Triple threat' -

Pannier-Runacher has called fast fashion a "triple threat" that promoted overconsumption, caused ecological damage and threatened French clothing businesses.

The Senate, dominated by the right, modified the bill to target "ultra" fast fashion companies, such as Asian websites Shein or Temu.

The Senate's amendments plan to leave out French and European brands that may be affected by the bill, such as Zara, H&M and Kiabi.

The fashion giants will still be obliged to notify their customers about the environmental impact of their products, according to the new bill.

"I have no intention of making French brands that contribute to our country's economic vitality pay a single euro,” said rapporteur Sylvie Valente Le Hir, member of the right-wing The Republicans party.

The bill will impose stricter sanctions on fast fashion companies by scoring their "environmental communication". This "eco-score" will affect all fast fashion companies, Pannier-Runacher said.

Those with the lowest scores will be taxed by the government up to five euros per product in 2025 and up to 10 euros by 2030. This tax cannot go beyond 50 percent of the price of the original product.

- Ad ban -

The bill would impose sanctions on influencers who promote such products and ban fast fashion advertisements.

The regulation of the fast fashion industry will only succeed with a "collective effort", and not by targeting "a single actor," Shein spokesperson Quentin Ruffat told RTL radio on Monday.

According to Ruffat, the law would "impact the purchasing power" of French people.

On Monday, France's Textiles Industry Union called the bill as "a first step" and hoped for its "rapid adoption... even if the text does not entirely fit our expectations".

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S.Lapointe--SMC