Shein, Temu, Primark… soon a penalty of 10 euros on each “fast fashion” item of clothing ?

Soon a penalty for “fast fashion” companies that cut prices. Unsplash – Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu

The "ultra-fast-fashion" is attacked by the government and the Ministry of Ecological Transition. The objective: to create a "penalty" on each item of clothing offered by low-cost, poor-quality clothing sales platforms. A text of law will be debated this Monday March 4, 2024 in the Assembly.

The major brands of "fast fashion", this sector of the industry characterized by low-cost clothing, are in the sights of the government and in particular the Ministry of Transition ecological. A penalty tax per item purchased is planned in the coming days in order to financially penalize these companies. The bill will be presented this Monday March 4 to the Assembly.

Up to 10 euros penalty per item sold

« Shein (Chinese online sales company) references on average more than 7,200 new clothing models per day, and makes more than 470,000 different products available to consumers. Shein thus offers 900 times more products than a traditional French brand,  details the author of the proposal law of MP Anne-Cécile Violland, on France Info. It provides for penalties of up to 10 euros fine per item sold, and a total ban on advertising for brands like Shein or Temu. These are e-commerce sites that offer an innumerable quantity of clothing at low prices and of lower quality, mostly imported from Asia.

Reducing the environmental impact of the textile industry

The objective of this law is to "reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry" of these brands belonging to this ephemeral fashion. This is characterized by a modulation of the "ecocontribution", paid by companies according to their environmental impact, in order to reduce the price gap between products from the &nbsp ;"fast fashion" and those from more virtuous sectors.

"When we buy on these sites, we know what we are doing, and we contribute to massive pollution of our environment. These products are sent by plane directly to consumers, and if we go even further, we also have problems linked to wastewater management for example", comments Anne-Cécile Violland, Horizon deputy, on France Info. In fact, 100 billion items of clothing are sold each year in the world, twice as much as 20 years ago.