France ponders new anti ‘fast-fashion’ laws

Shein, AliExpress, and Temu, as well as all other ‘fast fashion’ brands, are in the crosshairs of the French National Assembly for being brands that add to their catalog every day up to 1,000 new clothing items to their platforms.

In mid-March, in the French National Assembly, a bill will be voted on in which fast fashion brands will be penalized with a ban on advertising in the country, including collaboration with influencers, and consumers will have to pay a fee of up to 10 euros for each garment they purchase on the platforms. 

The proposal has been shared by conservative MP Antoine Vermorel Marques of the Les Républicains party and MP Anne-Cécile Violland of the Horizons party.

On social networks, the reception to this bill has been anything but positive. In the newspaper France 24, they have collected some comments from social networks such as "fast fashion for some, the only way to dress for others" or "I'm poor, but I have values, I don't order from these sites! You can be poor and have values!"

Anti-fast fashion laws might benefit traditional brick-and-mortar

Should the proposal be approved, large retail groups such as Inditex and H&M are expected to gain significant advantages. This is because they could experience an increase in demand for their products, as customers may choose to shop in physical stores instead of ordering online to avoid paying the proposed additional fee for Shein orders in France.

In recent years, Shein has consolidated its position as one of the most downloaded apps in both the United States and Spain, in many cases surpassing giants such as Amazon. In 2022, this Chinese platform reached an impressive sales record of around $23 billion. By 2023, Shein was anticipated to reach a market valuation of $90 billion before its expected IPO on major financial markets in the United States and London.