Earlier this week, on Thursday, France's National Assembly approved a series of measures aimed at curbing the environmental impact of fast fashion (Réduire l’impact environnemental de l’industrie textiled), with a particular focus on cheap clothing imported from mass producers, especially those based in China.
If the bill, which passed unanimously in France's lower house of parliament, becomes law (which requires a vote by the Senate), fast (and ultra-fast) fashion brands will be required to display an environmental score to demonstrate the impact of their output.
Besides, they will be subject to a surcharge linked to fast fashion's ecological footprint, starting at €5 per item next year and increasing to €10 by 2030. However, this charge cannot exceed 50% of an item's price tag. The proceeds from this surcharge will be used to subsidize producers of sustainable clothing.
The law will define what intends as "fast fashion" based on factors such as production volumes and the speed of turnover in collections (so it wouldn't target all online commerce companies). In the proposal bill, Chinese company Shein's rapid production is highlighted, stating that it offers 7,200 new items per day on its site. The penalties would be imposed for the association of these companies with environmental harm to make cheap clothes imported from China less attractive to buyers.
Furthermore, fast-fashion labels would be forbidden from advertising, including through influencer partnerships, as highlighted also in a previous text submitted on January 30th.
If passed, the bill would make France the first country in the world to legislate to limit the excesses of ultra-fast fashion. The idea for the bill was originally brought up by a member of the LR (The Republicans) party, Antoine Vermorel-Marques, who supports the idea that this bonus-malus system will make "Made in France" products cheaper and "Made in China" items more expensive, and who often highlighted in interviews the importance of buying an environmentally friendly garment that meets social and environmental standards. Parties involved in this proposal also highlighted the textile industry's significant contribution to pollution, accounting for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution.
The bill was indeed designed to protect people's health, as garments by fast fashion companies often contain toxic substances such as phthalates and PFAS (forever chemicals), but also to support the French industry, as several homegrown brands went out of business due to competition from fast fashion retailers.
France's high-end fashion sector remains a vital component of the economy, but the influx of cheap imported clothes has adversely affected the French market. While H&M and Zara dominated the fast-fashion scene until a few years ago, consumers now seem to prefer ultra-fast fashion retailers such as Shein and Temu.
If you care about the environment and are not a great fan of (ultra-fast and) fast fashion, this may come as great news. However, it's only natural to wonder if this decision will have any tangible positive impact on French manufacturers and retailers.
Some consumers are attracted by the extremely low prices of fast fashion retailers and continue to buy items that they only wear once and then throw immediately out; others turn to fast fashion as it's all they can afford. So, it remains uncertain whether this decision will deter the former from continuing to buy items (after all, even with a surcharge the items will still be pretty cheap...) and if it will adversely affect the latter.
There are other considerations to make: the bill primarily targets companies producing large quantities of clothes, but doesn't address other parallel issues like the sourcing of fashion components from other countries bought at affordable prices. French ministers may be interested in promoting the "Made in France" label, yet (as it happens with the "Made in Italy" moniker), this definition may be incorrect in a global world where it's practically impossible to determine the origin of everything (shoes made in Italy for Chanel are assembled from materials made in various countries, so even Chanel that represents the quintessential French maison, may not be technically 100% "Made in France"...).
Additionally, while it is true that low cost fashion garments and accessories contain toxic products, there's uncertainty about whether also genuine "Made in France" may contain toxic substances or PFAS.
Furthermore, the surcharge imposed by the law cannot exceed 50% of an item's price tag. Some items sold by Shein are extremely cheap and this may lead ultra-fast fashion retailers to lower prices further or stop selling to French consumers altogether (who may anyway shop at Shein when they visit another country). Moreover, tracking the number of items introduced daily by each brand, especially online platforms without physical retail presence in France, poses challenges (how can we be sure of how many items Shein produces when the company seems to have a very shady modus operandi? At the beginning of March, for example, Shein's UK business neglected to reveal its true ownership, violating company law, which might impact the company's purported intentions to explore listing in the UK).
We will learn more about the legislation when precise criteria regarding production volumes and turnover speed will be published in a decree once the law comes into force. For the time being, France remains the first and, so far, the only country to enact such legislation that represents some progresses in combating fast fashion. That said, maybe to bring real change countries should start developing their own internal regulations, even though the European Union has also been developing the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR; coming into full effect by 2025) that sets minimum design standards (requirements around recyclability, durability, reusability, repairability and use of hazardous substances) for all individual products sold within the EU.
Governments interested in developing provisions and regulations against fast fashion retailers may need the help of professional figures from the fashion industry who may be able to address other complex aspects of the industry that they may not be considering. But there is another way to try and oppose to fast fashion as legislation will never be enough to regulate it - education. Many of us consumers are already practicing simple rules like shopping more responsibly, recycling and repairing or readapting garments rather than throwing them out, and governments should invest in supporting educational projects that could contribute to the end of the fast fashion culture.
We have all seen images of textile landfills in Ghana or in the Atacama desert in Chile (also known as the "world's dumpster"), maybe it's about time we started imagining our landmark monuments covered in discarded cheap garments. Artificial Intelligence can help us visualising such scenes that, rather than evoking a fun arty installation, forewarn of a forthcoming disaster.
Comments