The EU’s war on fast fashion

While Europe’s appetite for fast fashion shows no sign of waning, governments are going straight to the source: tackling the e-commerce giants themselves.

Last year, France tried to ban fast-fashion giant Shein in the country, after authorities found weapons and “childlike” sex dolls for sale on its e-commerce platform. A Paris court rejected the request but referred the matter to the European Commission.

Today, the bloc launched an investigation into the Chinese-founded company under its Digital Services Act (DSA). It will assess whether Shein’s safeguards are curbing the sale of illegal items, including content that constitutes “child sexual abuse material”. “In the EU, illegal products are prohibited – whether they are on a store shelf or on an online marketplace,” said EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen in a statement.

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The Commission is also concerned about the “gamification” of the Singapore-based platform and its “addictive” design, a spokesperson told the BBC.

The ‘line in the sand’

Shein and e-commerce rivals such as Temu have made rapid inroads in Europe, but concern is growing over the environmental impact of fast fashion. In the EU, five million tonnes of clothing are “dumped” every year, said the European Parliament: 12kg per person.

Last year, the EU introduced “sweeping new rules” on textile waste, said the Financial Times. It passed on the cost of collecting, sorting and recycling textiles to companies. In a “direct swipe at the fast-fashion industry”, negotiators agreed that online retailers – including those based outside the EU but selling into the bloc – would be subject to the “same obligations” as bricks-and-mortar businesses.

The bloc is also using taxation to combat the economic threat. Until 2021, imports valued under €22 “arrived in Europe without paying VAT”, giving companies like Shein and Temu an “unfair advantage over local businesses”, said tax and finance law professor Albert Navarro García on The Conversation. Now, all non-EU imports are subject to VAT. The effects are “already being felt”, forcing international platforms to “modify their pricing”. Last year, France also became the first European country to “approve a tax on fast fashion”. Brands have to pay an extra €5 per item, which will increase to €10 in 2030.

France “continued its war on fast fashion” with amendments to a climate bill that would impose environmental penalties on retail giants, said Forbes. The bold move was both a “practical and symbolic line in the sand”. Fashion is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions. France, one of the world’s fashion capitals, showed it was “willing to legislate its worst excesses”.

A cultural and economic ‘affront’

France has been “going after” Shein for years, said Nicole Lipman in The Guardian. Authorities have investigated the company for human rights and environmental violations and fined it for “misleading discounts”. “The French fear Shein’s impact on the economy and labour markets, but also what the brand stands for: dirt-cheap clothing, at the expense of ethics.” Shein represents a cultural as well as economic “affront”.

However, in France Shein has become the fifth-largest clothing retailer by volume, according to the Institut Français de la Mode. In November, it opened its first bricks-and-mortar store in Paris, in the iconic department store BHV Marais. More than 100,000 citizens signed a petition opposing its presence, and many protested on opening day. Hours later, Shein was reported to French authorities for “sex dolls with a childlike appearance” listed on its third-party marketplace. The government suspended all Shein deliveries and moved to block the company.

Following “the uproar”, Shein said it “immediately removed the products and banned sex dolls from its site globally, regardless of appearance”, said Le Monde. But now, if the Commission reaches a so-called “non-compliance decision”, Shein may be forced to “alter its actions” further, said The Associated Press. Companies can also be fined up to 6% of their annual global revenue for DSA violations. That puts Shein “at risk of $2.2 billion [£1.6 billion] in penalties”, said The Verge.

“Protecting minors and reducing the risk of harmful content and behaviours are central to how we develop and operate our platform,” Shein said in a statement. “Following the issues identified last year, in addition to enhancement of detection tools, we also accelerated the rollout of additional safeguards around age-restricted products.”