France Strikes a Blow Against Ultra-Fast Fashion: Parliamentarians Approve Historic Law Against Shein and Temu

After more than two years of tense parliamentary battles and numerous negotiations with Brussels, French deputies and senators have finally reached a compromise on the resonant bill aimed at the phenomenon of “ultra-fast fashion.” The symbols of this phenomenon were the Asian giants Shein and Temu, which flooded the European market with cheap and short-lived clothing. An agreement was reached in the evening of June 17 during the work of a joint conciliation committee (CMP), which included seven representatives from each house of parliament.

📜 What is “ultra-fast fashion” and who will the law affect?

In order not to affect European manufacturers, parliamentarians introduced a clear legal definition of “ultra-fast fashion.” It is based on two mandatory criteria:

Range of products - colossal volumes of clothing dumped on the market daily (Shein releases thousands of new models per day). Low repairability - a coefficient indicating how the cost of repairing an item is disproportionate to its price, making repairs economically senseless. This definition allows the blow to be directed exclusively at the largest Asian online platforms, without affecting French and European brands such as Zara, Kiabi, H&M, or Decathlon. Trade Minister Serge Papin stated directly: “We will not shoot ourselves in the foot, this law is not for punishing French entrepreneurs.”

💰 Financial Penalty (Malus): Up to 50% of the Cost and €10 per Item

The main tool of the law is a progressive environmental penalty (malus) that will be applied to each product in the ultra-fast fashion category. The mechanism looks as follows:

The penalty will increase gradually, reaching its maximum by 2030. The ceiling of the penalty is 50% of the price of the item excluding taxes, but not more than €10 per unit. The Trade Minister clarified that at the initial stage, the penalty will range from 20 cents to €6 per item, and for Shein, the total annual penalty amount could be around €100 million. The final size and details of the penalty calculation will be defined later by government decrees. It is important to note that the previously discussed tax on small packages was excluded from this bill and included in a separate financial law, which came into force in March 2026.

🚫 Total Ban on Advertising, Including Influencers

The second key point is a total ban on any advertising of ultra-fast fashion products. This ban includes not only traditional advertising campaigns but also promotion through bloggers and influencers, who have become one of the main sales drivers for these platforms. This point was crucial for the National Assembly, although the Senate initially viewed it skeptically.

🌍 Ecology, Economy, and Political Context

The initiative pursues several goals at once. Firstly, it is an environmental agenda: reducing the mountains of textile waste and carbon footprint from mass production. Secondly, it is the protection of national producers: according to the French Women’s Ready-to-Wear Federation, due to the expansion of Shein and Temu over the past three years, around 20,000 jobs have been lost in the country, with a threat to between 50,000 and 80,000 jobs in the textile industry by 2030.

Federation President Yann Rivollan called the agreement a “historic victory,” but acknowledged that in the pursuit of Asian platforms, the law overlooked the protection of “made in France.” “We cannot compare Zara and Shein, but we need to continue fighting to prevent the Shein lobby from sabotaging the system,” he warned.

🗳 Next Steps and Entry into Force

The final vote on the bill is scheduled for the end of June: on June 24, the National Assembly will consider the text, and on June 29, the Senate will review it. The author of the bill, deputy Anne-Cecile Viollan, stated that the law could come into force as early as September 1, 2026. Thus, France becomes one of the global pioneers in legislatively curbing the phenomenon of ultra-cheap and environmentally destructive fashion.