France finally adopts anti-fast-fashion law

One year after the first reading approval of the bill aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the textile industry, and after months of stagnation, the Senate has finally decided to almost unanimously adopt the well-known anti-fast-fashion law. As Jacques Fernique, senator and co-rapporteur of the newly approved law, said: "we've seen faster procedures". But even with accumulated delays, the result is here, along with a series of tools and rules put in place to curb the expansion of ultra-fast fashion in France. Between the advertising ban, penalties for polluting companies, sanctions for influencers promoting its consumption, and certain obligations for the platforms selling it, we might be witnessing the beginning of the end for “ultra-disposable” or even “ultra-fast” fashion, as the Senate defines it.

"This text has two ambitions: to protect our environment and our commerce", explains Véronique Louwagie, Minister of Consumer Affairs. "We’ve drawn a clear line between those we want to regulate, ultra express fashion (...) and those we want to preserve: accessible but rooted fashion, which employs in France, structures our regions, creates social ties, and supports a local economic fabric", continues Republican senator Sylvie Valente Le Hir, rapporteur of the text. Concretely, the law aims to raise consumer awareness of the environmental impact of their clothing, and ensure that fashion companies pay eco-contributions, operating on a "bonus-malus" principle, adjusted according to the companies’ sustainability criteria and calculated by the "ecoscore", a sort of nutriscore for fashion. A penalty that, until next year, will amount to €5 per item, but will gradually increase over the years, reaching €10 per piece by 2030. A tax on small parcels delivered by companies based outside the European Union will also be imposed, ranging from €2 to €4.

While major fast fashion names like H&M and Zara are certainly targeted, the main enemy of this new law is none other than the fast fashion giant par excellence: Shein. "This bill risks placing the burden of sustainability on consumers, already facing economic pressures, by further reducing their purchasing power", Shein reacted immediately after the vote, having already denounced in recent days a "anti-Shein law". While the news is encouraging, anti-fast-fashion associations prefer not to celebrate too quickly, criticizing the fact that some measures only target ultra-fast fashion and spare European brands of this disposable model. "The next step, the joint committee (CMP) discussions, remains crucial", says Impact France and En Mode Climat. To be continued.