France fines Shein €40 millions over fake discounts

While many things can be criticized about the French government, it seems they are at least keeping their promises. After approving the anti-fast fashion law last month, which implements systems of bonuses and penalties, eco scores, and parcel taxes to curb the growth of ultra-fast fashion and reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry, France has just fined Shein, the global fast fashion leader, €40 million. After a year-long investigation, the French antitrust agency found that a significant percentage of the deals advertised on the fast fashion site were actually false. The investigation, conducted on thousands of products on Shein’s French site between October 1, 2022, and August 31, 2023, revealed that 57% of the advertised deals did not, in fact, offer a lower price: 19% had a discount lower than advertised; and 11% were actually price increases, according to BoF. These practices go against French law, which states that the reference price for any discount must be the lowest offered by a retailer in the 30 days preceding the offer.

The sanction is not a first warning, but the result of multiple ignored alerts by the Chinese giant, which had already been addressed on May 27 by the European Commission, asking it again to stop several misleading or abusive practices toward European consumers, including fake discounts, purchase pressure, false information, and opacity of certain details. Moreover, the company was also unable to justify the environmental claims present on its e-commerce, explains Fashion United, where it allegedly attempted to downplay its environmental impact by decreasing its greenhouse gas emissions by 25%. Let’s hope this penalty marks the beginning of an ethical reckoning for the Chinese giant, which is becoming an increasingly significant global threat.