According to reports from Agence France-Presse, the French parliament recently voted to pass the latest fast fashion bill to limit the excessive development of low-cost, fast fashion products (especially from Chinese manufacturers). This marks France as the first country in the world to legislate to restrict fast fashion.
The bill mainly includes banning textiles and fashion advertising and levying environmental taxes on low-cost goods. It is reported that the legislation plans to impose a €5 surcharge on fast fashion products from next year, expected to increase to €10 by 2030, with a ceiling of 50% of the product’s marked price.
It is understood that Anne-Cecile Violland, representing the French Horizons Party, cited the Chinese brand Shein as a typical example when submitting the fast fashion bill proposal.
According to French media reports, platforms such as Shein and Temu have already disrupted the local retail industry because traditional companies like Zara and H&M mainly operate by predicting buyer preferences to decide on order production, while Shein and Temu outpace them with their flexible supply chains.
After the implementation of this bill, Chinese outbound brands represented by Shein and Temu, as well as the clothing and textile industry chains behind them, and even a large number of foreign brands such as Primark and Zara with suppliers in China, may be affected. Analysts say this may be a significant reason for France’s bill proposal.