France approved a ban on ephemeral fashion: what does it mean?

Fashion trends in the modern world are changing at kaleidoscopic speed. And now French legislators have approved a bill to punish fast fashion.

France’s lower house of parliament on Thursday approved a bill that would impose fines on fast fashion products sold by companies such as China’s Shein to help offset their environmental impact.

Thursday’s vote makes France the first country in the world to “pass laws to curb the excesses of ultra-fast fashion,” said Christophe Bechoux, minister for environmental change. The measures still require a vote in the Senate.

According to Reuters, the bill approved by French parliamentarians calls for a gradual increase in fines to 10 euros ($11) for each individual item of clothing by 2030, as well as a ban on advertising such products.

All lawmakers who voted unanimously approved the bill, which will head to the Senate before it can become law.

The French clothing market is flooded with cheap imported clothing, while several domestic brands have filed for bankruptcy.

But the main arguments put forward by Horizons, the party allied with President Emmanuel Macron that introduced the bill, were environmental.

“The textile industry is the most polluting,” said Horizons deputy Anne-Cécile Violland, adding that the sector accounts for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions and is a major source of water pollution.

Under the law, France will use criteria such as the volume of clothing produced and the turnover rate of new collections when determining what constitutes fast fashion.

The popularity of fashion retailers Shein and Temu, which increase orders based on demand thanks to hyper-flexible supply chains, has disrupted the retail sector, while established players such as Zara and H&M continue to rely heavily on predicting shopper preferences.

“This evolution of the apparel sector towards ephemeral fashion, combining increased volumes and low prices, is influencing consumer purchasing habits, creating buying impulses and a constant need for renewal, not without environmental, social and economic consequences,” the bill states.

Shein said in a statement to Reuters that the clothes it produces meet existing demand, allowing its unsold clothing rate to remain consistently in the single digits, while traditional players can have up to 40% waste.

The statement added that the only impact of the bill would be “a deterioration in the purchasing power of French consumers at a time when they are already feeling the effects of the cost of living crisis.”

French Environment Minister Christophe Bechoux described the bill as “an important step forward,” adding: “A big step has been taken to reduce the environmental impact of the textile sector.”

The bill comes as France’s environment ministry said it would propose to the European Union a ban on the export of second-hand clothing in a bid to tackle a worsening textile waste problem.

Last year, the country launched a repair program to encourage people to repair old clothes and shoes rather than throw them away. The French government has committed 154 million euros ($168 million) to the initiative, which reimburses customers up to 25 euros ($27.20) for every garment they repair. Refashion, a non-profit group tasked with managing the scheme, says 3.3 billion items of clothing, home linen and footwear entered the French market in 2022. At the same time, the country’s environment ministry said the French throw away 700,000 tons of clothing, two-thirds of which end up in landfills, every year.

One of the most polluting industries in the world, the fashion industry accounts for between 3% and 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to consultancy McKinsey’s State of Fashion report. About half of all fibers produced by the industry are oil-based polyester varieties, the report adds.