On Thursday, France’s lower house of parliament unanimously passed a bill targeting "fast fashion" companies, advancing it to the Senate.
The bill, according to CNN, seeks to penalize so-called "ultra-fast fashion" companies such as Shein or Temu.
Vogue Business reports that the proposal would penalize textile climate offenders with annually rising increments of up to €10 per garment by 2030, ban fast fashion companies from advertising in France, and require companies to display information about each product’s environmental impact, as well as instructions on how to repair, reuse, and recycle, alongside the product’s price on websites and apps.
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While some have called the bill "pioneering", Vogue also highlights criticisms due to the bill’s vague definition of "fast fashion". It remains unclear whether the bill will apply only to the aforementioned "ultra-fast fashion" companies like Chinese Shein and Temu or if it will also impose regulations on more traditional fast fashion companies, most notably the influential - and European - firms Zara and H&M.
French Minister for Ecological Transition and Cohesion of Territories, is nevertheless enthusiastic about the bill, writing in a post on X that the bill is a “major advancement” and that “a big step has been taken to reduce the environmental footprint of the textile sector.”