Advertising banned, environmental “punishment”… Assembly votes on measures against “fast fashion”

How to limit the excesses of “fast fashion”? The National Assembly voted unanimously on Thursday for measures aimed at curbing the rapid production of cheap and low-quality clothing, with a ban on advertising selling clothes at knock-down prices flooding the market and increasing “fines” reinforcing the environment to make them less attractive.

The bill, passed in the first reading, will now have to be considered by the Senate. It comes from the Horizons group, one of the three components of the presidential majority, as part of its day at the Bourbon Palace. Despite the reservations, she received the support of all groups in the House. The text will make France “the first country in the world to pass legislation limiting the excesses of ultra-fast fashion,” Ecological Transition Minister Christophe Béchoux welcomed in the House of Representatives.

With purchasing power waning, the saturation of the market with inexpensive, constantly updated and mass-imported clothing has rocked the sector, where store closures and litigation are on the rise. But it is the environmental aspect that is emphasized by the text of Horizons MP Anne-Cécile Violland: “The textile industry is the most polluting, accounting for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions,” she emphasized, also mentioning water pollution.

Environmental impact

In the viewfinder, intensive manufacturing practices have reached their zenith thanks to the iconic Chinese company Shein and its “7,200 new clothing designs per day” on average. The proposed law defines “fast fashion” with criteria based on production volumes and the rate at which collections are updated. But we are talking about decrees on establishing numerical thresholds.

Targeted companies will be required to inform consumers about the “environmental impact” of their products. The main measure is to strengthen the bonus-malus system in the textile sector to take into account the “environmental costs” of overproduction. The punishment will be linked to the “eco-labeling” of products, a new method of evaluating products that will be introduced.

Its amount, which will be set by decree, could gradually reach 10 euros per product in 2030, with a ceiling of 50% of the sales price. The amendment provided for levels to reach these 10 euros, in particular the first level of 5 euros in 2025. “It’s not a tax,” Ms Violland insisted, but rather the contributions should be redistributed to sustainable clothing producers, with the aim of lowering their prices.

Another flagship measure is a “ban on advertising of products and companies”, which falls under the definition of “fast fashion” adopted for aggressive marketing. This provision was supported by all groups except the Republicans (LR). “If you ban advertising on textiles, in particular on fashion, you will no longer have fashion,” said LR MP Antoine Vermorel-Marquez.

“The devil is in the decrees”

Rebels, environmentalists and socialists called in vain for minimum fines and import quotas. And also introduce criteria for observing social rights in the textile industry. They also failed to include in the law the numerical thresholds defining “express fashion”, as requested by the Republic of Latvia.

“The devil is in the decrees,” worries LFI MP Alma Dufour, fearing that the Ministry of Economy will reduce the ambition of the text through regulations. On the other hand, it welcomed the government’s amendment to allow the integration of online sales platforms (the “marketplace”).

The Stop Fast Fashion NGO Coalition called on parliamentarians to set thresholds that would “not penalize just Shein or Tema,” arguing that “brands like Zara, Primark, H&M or Action” should also be subject to sanctions. According to Shein, this text “disproportionately penalizes the most frugal consumers.” The number of mentions “is not a significant metric” for defining fast fashion, but rather relates, depending on the brand, to the scale of unsold items, the spokesperson said.

The department store trade alliance expressed doubts that the “fine” would be based on an “environmental demonstration”. Its chief executive, Johann Petiot, said he feared the text would “miss its purpose” by influencing national companies rather than “ultra-fast fashion”.