Supported by Horizons deputies, this text aims to introduce a penalty of up to 10 euros per article. The Chinese site Shein is particularly in the sights of parliamentarians.
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They want “fast fashion” to go out of fashion. A bill aimed at penalizing “disposable fashion” arrives at the National Assembly on Monday March 4. The text, carried by the deputies of the Horizons group, will first be examined in committee then in the hemicycle from March 14. In the viewfinder: brands and online shopping sites, such as Shein, which offer a countless quantity of clothing at low prices and of lower quality, most of which are imported from Asia. Mis in place of a penalty, advertising prohibited… Franceinfo presents the main points to you.
A model criticized
Dresses for less than 15 euros, jackets for 9.99 euros, t-shirts for 1.50 euros… The Shein brand, known for its unbeatable prices, is mentioned by name in the preamble to the bill. “At the forefront of this express fashion, the Chinese ready-to-wear company lists on average more than 7,200 new clothing models per day, and makes more than 470,000 different products available to consumers, write the Horizons deputies. Shein therefore offers 900 times more products than a traditional French brand.”
The explanatory memorandum of the proposed law thus points to a “runaway” of the sector. “This overproduction of clothing, which arrives from Asia in contravention of all environmental regulations, is dramatic. There is an urgency to tackle the problem in a very concrete way.”is alarmed by MP Anne-Cécile Violland, author of the bill, in Le Figaro.
Accused of forced labor and encouraging overconsumption, singled out for their environmental impact, criticized for the lack of transparency of their production, these brands regularly attract the wrath of environmental and human rights defenders. In 2022, for example, Greenpeace denounced the presence of chemicals dangerous to humans in Shein brand clothing.
In a message sent to AFP, the company maintains that its model is “fundamentally different from ‘fast fashion'” and ensures to follow “international best practices in sustainable development and social commitments”. She claims to share “legislators’ interest in promoting responsible supply chain management and protecting our environment”.
A proposed penalty
The proposed law wants to hit the brands in the wallet. The text provides for the establishment of a penalty to compensate for the environmental impact of these clothes. By 2030, this “penalty” may reach 10 euros per item sold, within the limit of 50% of the sale price. “This is about proceeding as we do in another field, that of the automobile, (…) in order to truly change the practices of producers, as well as the purchasing behavior of consumers.”we can read.
“When we buy on these sites, we know what we are doing and we contribute to massive pollution of our environment, recalls MP Anne-Cécile Violland, interviewed by France 2. 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.”
The text also provides for a modulation of the “ecocontribution” paid by companies based on their environmental impact, in order to reduce the price gap between products from “fast fashion” and those from more virtuous sectors. Pierre Talamon, president of the National Clothing Federation (FNH), approves. According to him, we must penalize those who indulge “to commercial marketing and overproduction techniques that push you to buy clothes to wear them 7 to 8 times and then throw them in the trash.” These companies that sell online “do not create jobs, they destroy them”still berates the professional.
A ban on advertising
The bill also plans to prohibit online sales platforms for low-cost clothing from advertising. Paid videos of influencers who unpack their packages by presenting all the clothes they have just bought are also in the sights of deputies. Anne-Cécile Violland also puts forward the idea of messages on websites to make customers aware of the environmental impact of their purchases. This measure could be inspired by what is done with the Evin law which regulates advertising on alcoholic beverages.
In their bill, the Horizons deputies also refer to theThe Climate law, promulgated in August 2021. This one “banned advertising for fossil fuels or those involving greenwashing or eco-laundering”. Their proposed law “is part of the continuity of this approach to aligning the advertising sector with our national, European and international commitments in terms of environmental protection”it is recalled in the text.
The president of the Union of Textile Industries, Olivier Ducatillion, approves the deputies’ project, judging that “all initiatives aimed at combating unfair competition from Shein, Temu and others are welcome”. The president of the Women’s Ready-to-Wear Federation, Yann Rivoallan, also believes “judicious” any project aimed at sanctioning “economically, ecologically and socially dangerous behavior”.