PARIS — After more than two years working its way through legislative channels, France finally adopted its long-awaited ultra-fast-fashion crackdown bill on Monday.
The law is considered one of the most aggressive regulatory moves yet against ultra-low-cost, high-volume online apparel platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress.
The bill has been approved by both houses of Parliament and expected to be signed into law by President Emmanuel Macron.
Sometimes called the “anti-Shein” law, the legislation does not outright ban ultra-fast fashion, platforms or brands. Instead, it will add fees on to products, as well as limit advertising, marketing and influencer promotions.
The law also introduces a formal definition of “ultra-fast fashion” based on the speed of release and breadth of product assortments, as well as a repairability metric comparing garment price with the cost of repair — meaning if it is cheaper to buy new than it would be to repair, it will be subject to higher charges.
The intention is to draw a line between ultra-fast platforms and more traditional “fast-fashion” European retailers like H&M and Zara, which have physical stores and provide local jobs.
“We take note of the final adoption of the Fast-Fashion Bill by Parliament. At this stage, we note that several provisions of the text raise questions in light of the observations made by the European Commission following the notification procedure initiated by the French authorities,” a spokesperson for Shein said in a statement to WWD.
“In particular, certain measures appear to maintain difficulties in their interaction with the European framework applicable to digital services and e-commerce. We will continue our detailed legal analysis of the regulatory acts, once published, and of their consequences for consumers and all affected stakeholders,” they added.
Specifically, the law introduces and “eco-modulation” environmental fee per item, designed to make the most polluting products more expensive to sell. These charges will increase over time, reaching up to 20 euros an item by 2030, with a cap of 50 percent of the product’s pre-tax price.
Alongside the pricing measure, the legislation restricts advertising by ultra-fast-fashion platforms, including digital ads and influencer marketing. Brands will also be required to display messaging encouraging consumers to reuse and repair, as well as promote more responsible purchasing habits.
Industry reaction has been mixed. Supporters say the law is a long-overdue move to level the playing field between retailers and global digital platforms. Critics argue the language was watered down during negotiations and intense lobbying from the platforms, reducing its impact on the biggest players.
But lawmakers said they need to start somewhere.
“We had to have a text that works very quickly and is operational,” Member of Parliament Anne-Cécile Violland told AFP. She first introduced the bill in Parliament and has been spearheading its passage.
“I’m comfortable with saying, at first, we’re hitting Shein very hard, and that’s the first step,” she added.
As Shein noted, the advertising ban is one of the most uncertain parts of the law. The European Commission has raised concerns about whether it fully complies with EU rules, which could limit its scope. French officials have also acknowledged that if Brussels challenges the measure, some of the advertising restrictions may be difficult to enforce.
France and the EU have both taken aim at the platforms in other ways. France introduced a 2 euro per-item fee on low-value parcels imported from outside the EU in March 2026, while the EU is readying a separate 3 euro per-item customs charge on low-value parcels entering the bloc as part of its wider reform package, expected to go into effect this fall.
It also comes just after the new owners of Paris retailer BHV revealed they will end the department store’s controversial partnership with Shein by December, where it had opened its very first physical store less than a year ago.
Beyond France, Germany has called for stringent policies for textiles under the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, which aims to improve the sustainability and circularity of products sold in the EU. Germany pushed for requirements for recycled content, durability and recyclability for textiles, as well as clear criteria to make regulation of ultra-fast fashion more defined.
Germany and the Netherlands, along with France, also have called for more extended producer responsibility enforcement for textiles, putting responsibility on ultra-fast-fashion companies to take on a share of the cost of collection, sorting, reuse and disposal of discarded garments. France, Germany and the Netherlands said European environmental and product standards must apply to online and third-party retailers just as they do for those based in the EU.
“Ultra-fast fashion is only worn for a short time, but causes problems in the long run. Once discarded, it can rarely be reused as a secondhand garment or recycled, placing a strain on used clothing collection,” said Jochen Flasbarth, state secretary at the German Federal Environment Ministry. “This is a burden on our resources, climate and waste management systems and puts companies that invest in long-lived, circular textiles under pressure. That is why we are calling on the European Commission to set higher sustainability standards for manufacturers of ultra-fast fashion. Producing cheap disposable clothing can no longer be a competitive advantage.”
— With contributions from Jennifer Bringle