On the heels of the recent introduction of the Americas Trade and Investment Act, a bipartisan bill that includes “over $14 billion in incentives for apparel, footwear, and accessories reuse and recycling, onshoring/reshoring, closing the de minimis loophole, addressing forced labor, and more,” French lawmakers are making headlines by way of proposed new legislation of their own that endeavors cut down on the impact of fast fashion. In an effort to address the striking influx of quickly discardable clothing that is being put on the market by stalwart fast fashion companies like H&M and newer market entrants, such as Shein and Temu, the first-of-its-kind fast-fashion bill aims to add an initial tax of €5 per fast fashion item and “a maximum penalty of €10 per product by 2030.”
In light of the environmental and social harms at issue in the fast fashion sector, and the fact that “the textile and clothing industry is increasingly weighing on the French trade deficit,” the rise of fast fashion and ultra-fast fashion has created a “real issue … that the national representation must address,” representatives of the Horizons party stated in connection with the new proposal.
While the sponsors of the bill do not name many names when it comes to the pool of “fast fashion” companies that will be subject to the legislation if enacted, they do explicitly cite China-founded, Singapore-based Shein as an example of the type of business that the new bill will target.
Some Background: Not the first effort by European governments to regulate fashion, the lawmakers state in the bill that the new proposal builds upon existing European Union-level efforts, such as the establishment of environmental labeling for the textile, clothing and footwear sector (Law No. 2021-1104 of August 22, 2021), the introduction of a bonus for the repair of products to promote the circular and local economy (Law No. 2020-105 of February 10, 2020), and the new regulation on the ecodesign of sustainable products.
The Proposal: Consisting of three key articles, the newly-proposed bill (Bill No. 2129) aims to close the gaps in existing “efforts towards eco-design, intrinsic sustainability, and reduction of the environmental footprint of each product,” which the proposal says “are essential,” but are not enough “to meet our commitments in the fight against climate change, [namely] in the absence of a return to sustainable production volumes.” With that in mind, the bill consists of the following articles …
> Article 1: The bill aims, in its first article, to “strengthen consumer information and awareness on the environmental impact of fast fashion, as well as on the possibilities of reuse and repair of clothing and accessories.” Specifically, the bill would mandate that fast fashion retailers publish information about an item’s reuse, repair, recycling and environmental impact near the product’s price.
> Article 2: The bill “aims to strengthen the extended producer responsibility (‘EPR’) sector for clothing textiles, household linens and shoes. In particular, the article aims to ensure that the financial contributions paid by producers also depend on the environmental and carbon impact of their productions, and on whether or not they are part of a fast fashion commercial approach. To ensure this modulation of companies’ contributions, existing law allows the establishment of penalties according to criteria in particular of sustainability and recyclability, but these are not currently mobilized by the sector.”
“Just as much to finally make the reality of the environmental costs generated by the worst practices in the industry pay, as to hold the most polluting companies accountable, the article intends to set out a progressive trajectory of increasing the power of the penalty.”
> Article 3: Finally, the bill “aims to prohibit advertising for fast fashion companies and products. Given the impacts of advertising on purchasing behavior, this sector is today widely regulated, whether for reasons of preventing the exposure of minors to sensitive content, consumer protection, public health or again for environmental reasons.” On this last point, the drafting parties state that a previous “climate and resilience” law banned advertising for fossil fuels or those involving a “greenwashing” approach. Article 3 of the newly-proposed bill is “a continuation of this approach to aligning the advertising sector with our national, European and international commitments in terms of environmental protection.”
Next Steps: While the proposal has been approved by France’s National Assembly, it stills need the approval of the French Senate in order to become law.
Early Issues: In terms of some of the early issues with the bill that have been identified by stakeholders, Emily Stochl, the vice president of advocacy and community engagement at Remake, a sustainable fashion nonprofit, told BBC, “Lawmakers should ensure that the funds collected via these penalties flow in the direction of where that environmental impact is occurring. For example, the frontline communities facing the most environmental impact because of fast fashion are often communities in the global south. So, as penalties are collected to address environmental impact, how are those funds distributed to the frontline communities most impacted? As far as I can tell, the policy does not address those things.”
At the same time, Kathleen Talbot, chief sustainability officer and vice president of operations at sustainable fashion brand Reformation voiced concerns over a lack of harmonization among a number of bills that are being proposed in different jurisdictions. “What’s interesting about the proposed French bill and regulations like the New York Fashion Act is that [while] they have similar aims,” they are “really location-specific, siloed efforts.”