France has passed a law targeting non-EU platforms such as Shein and Temu. In
Germany, a series of tests has described their products as ‘toxic chemical cocktails’ that
underpin a specific business model. What will be the outcome of this war on super fast
fashion?
by Massimiliano Viti
From the Brussels tax (which we wrote about here) to the French law, via the German legal case. Chinese super-fast fashion (Shein, Temu, AliExpress) is in Europe’s sights. France, after more than two years of parliamentary debate, has become the first country to pass a law designed to target the giants of ultra-fast fashion and “reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry”.
In Europe’s sights
The law also regulates advertising. It requires the inclusion of environmental information and prohibits influencers from promoting super-fast fashion brands online. This legislation is based on two main criteria. One is the volume of garments placed on the market (according to the French government, Shein and Temu sell volumes that are not comparable to those of Zara). The other is the incentive to repair. In other words, a
coefficient that relates the price of the product to the cost of repair.
The French law
A few days after the law was passed, the French government also presented a draft
decree setting out the amounts of the fines, calculated on the basis of each product’s
environmental score. The amount is set to rise. It could reach up to 20 euros per item by
2030, with a maximum cap of 50 per cent of the pre-tax price. For example, for a pair of
jeans, the price will rise from 9 euros in 2026 to over 17 euros in 2030. The decree is
subject to a public consultation process until the end of July, whilst the planned date of
entry into force is 1 September 2026.
A social model to defend
“What is at stake today is not just clothing, but a social model that we want to defend,”
Serge Papin, the Élysée’s Minister for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, told Reuters.
Shein (which has been given the green light to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange),
however, argues that some measures in the draft bill “appear to be inconsistent with the
European framework governing digital services and e-commerce”. This suggests that the
matter may be far from settled.
The origin, not the procedures
French law imposes less stringent regulations and much simpler obligations on
European fast-fashion companies such as Inditex-Zara, H&M and the French firm Kiabi. According to industry insiders, this constitutes an important first step, even if it has not achieved all its objectives. It has focused on the origin of products rather than on
production processes. This decision could redistribute market shares amongst fast fashion manufacturers, but it will not, on its own, solve the environmental problem. The reason is simple: this law does not oblige non-EU retailers to reduce their environmental impact (or that of their suppliers) by producing less. Whilst the objective may be justifiable from a strictly economic perspective, it is not from an environmental one, because the regulations do not bring about any real benefit. As reported in BoF, the system assigns a cost to the damage rather than preventing it.
The Lacoste case
France has also been at the centre of another case involving Shein. The Paris Court has
issued interim measures across the entire European Union to prevent the infringement of
the Lacoste trademark, which features on a large number of items for sale on Shein. In
the judge’s view, this is a probable case of ‘counterfeiting by imitation’, with a clear and
concrete risk of confusion for consumers.
Major problems in Germany
In Germany, Shein’s problems take a different form. Chemical analysis of a pair of
women’s boots manufactured and sold by Shein revealed the presence of diethylhexyl
phthalate (DEHP). This is a toxic substance primarily used to make PVC soft and flexible.
The level detected was 179 times higher than the maximum permitted under European
law. But that is not all. The investigation commissioned by Deutsche Umwelthilfe, a
German environmental and consumer protection organisation, found that 15 out of 18
Shein products contained pollutants or chemical residues from the manufacturing
process. Not only that: almost 40 per cent of the items tested breach current European
regulations on chemicals and should not be sold. DUH has stated that it has taken legal
action against Shein, which, in the meantime, has said it has withdrawn the products from
sale globally pending the outcome of the investigations.
A toxic chemical cocktail
Barbara Metz, CEO of DUH, said in a statement that “Shein’s clothing is, by its very
nature, a toxic chemical cocktail. The real problem is not just the chemicals present in
the garments, but the system underpinning their production”. Viola Wohlgemuth, a textile
and circular economy expert at DUH, added: “Toxic chemicals are not an industrial
accident. They are the price we pay for a business model that prioritises maximum
speed. What is the point of limits on chemicals if they are not respected?”. According to
DUH, companies such as Shein “should pay much higher levies than manufacturers of
durable, low-environmental-impact and recyclable goods”. In the German context, Shein’s
supply chain – which has always been its strong point – has turned into a double-edged
sword.
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