France’s bid to crack down on ultra-fast fashion has resulted in nearly-unanimous approval from the Senate. On June 10, the Senate voted in favor of legislation (337 votes in favor and 1 against) that aims to reduce the environmental footprint of low-cost, high-volume clothing and address the market distortions that ultra-fast fashion giants create by regulating advertising and imposing monetary penalties on companies that fail to meet certain environmental criteria. The bill will now land before a joint committee of senators and lower house deputies before final adoption and approval by the European Commission.
The Bill in Brief: The legislation (if enacted) will impact traditional fast fashion companies, including Spanish giant Zara, and ultra-fast fashion companies, such as Shein and Temu, alike. It will broadly require fast fashion giants to inform their customers about the environmental impact of their products. It will introduce penalties for large companies that fail to meet environmental criteria, with size determined by the number of styles offered up, rather than the exact number of garments sold, a measure that is being characterized as likely to heavily impact the likes of Shein and Temu. Companies will be sanctioned at least 10 euros per item of clothing by 2030, or up to 50 percent of the product’s price excluding tax.
The bill will also ban advertising of fast fashion and ultra-fast fashion goods and impose sanctions on influencers promoting these types of products.
An Amended Bill
More than a year after the anti-fast fashion law passed in the French National Assembly, France’s “right-leaning Senate redraft[ed] the bill … to narrow its scope to mainly Chinese online retailers” and “destructive” model of ultra-fast and ultra-cheap fashion, according to Bloomberg. The law “will put the brakes on these Chinese giants who are invading us without any controls, without any standards, without paying any taxes in France,” said Senator Sylvie Valente Le Hir, one of the leading voices behind the amended bill.
The bill is part of France’s broader attempt to tackle a surge in imports of disposable garments and accessories that critics say undermine both sustainability goals and domestic industry. According to the Ministry for Ecological Transition, just a few platforms engaged in high-speed fashion cycles generate over €5 billion in sales annually in France. Between 2010 and 2023, the number of garments released into the French market surged from 2.3 billion to 3.2 billion, according to the French Environment and Energy Management Agency. The country now sees more than 48 garments introduced per resident per year, and 35 items discarded every second.
The stakes go beyond environmental damage. Le Hir emphasized the threat to accessible French fashion brands like Kiabi, which are struggling to compete with rock-bottom prices and massive product turnover. “We must preserve these businesses,” she said.
A Lighter Regulatory Approach?
The original anti-fast fashion legislation was introduced in March 2023 by Deputy Anne-Cécile Violland, a member of the centrist Horizons party, amid mounting concern about the textile industry’s impact on climate, waste, and labor. Touted as a first-of-its-kind initiative in Europe, the bill sought to reduce the environmental and social costs of fast fashion by introducing financial penalties, advertising restrictions, and support mechanisms for sustainable alternatives.
At its core, the bill endeavors to combat what Violland calls the “systemic overproduction” of cheap, short-lived clothing that encourages overconsumption and generates massive waste. It gained broad political support early on, passing unanimously in the National Assembly in June 2023 – a rare show of unity around climate and industrial reform. But its path through the Senate has proved more complicated.
The Senate’s revised draft, which passed this week, has attracted criticism for softening key provisions. The bill no longer includes a firm ban on advertising nor significant financial penalties based on environmental scoring, measures that environmental NGOs say were essential to meaningful enforcement. Deputy Anne-Cécile Violland, who authored the original bill, has publicly decried the Senate’s modifications. After 15 months of political back-and-forth, she described the latest version as “completely unraveled,” warning that lobbying efforts by target companies have eroded the bill’s ambition to “almost nothing.”
Senator Le Hir has defended the changes as pragmatic. She confirmed meeting with Shein executives during consultations but insists the legislation remains enforceable and grounded in France’s broader industrial interests. The goal, she said, is to act quickly and avoid legal pitfalls that could delay or stand in the way of the bill altogether.
While the file bill will be subject to changes to reconcile the original version voted on by the lower house and the amended version that passed the Senate, the Senate’s vote on June 10 has offered the clearest signal that France intends to lead the charge in Europe’s regulatory response to fast fashion.
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