As EU executives meet with Shein and H&M in the same week, civil society urges the European Commission to let a trailblazing French law against fast fashion pass. Roberta Arbinolo reports.
France is taking on ultra-fast fashion with a new law that seeks to rein in the most harmful commercial practices in the textile sector. The French initiative could inspire other European countries to address the social and environmental impacts of the industry, but the adoption of the law is currently blocked by the European Commission.
As Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall met representatives of fashion industry giants Shein and H&M, civil society hit the streets of Brussels with a clear message: “Stop fast fashion’s bloody catwalk. Europe needs the French law. Let it pass.”
Why it is urgent
Fast and ultra-fast fashion are leaving Europe tangled in a mountain of textile waste.
In 2022, 8.5 million tonnes of textiles were consumed in the EU – an average of 19kg per person, enough to fill a large suitcase. Increasing clothing sales volumes mean more items are being discarded, and at a faster pace: 16 kg of textile waste per person are generated annually in the EU. Soaring amounts of surplus garments with low resale value are driving textile collectors and sorters to breaking point.
At the same time, the astronomical quantities of sold and discarded clothing have a disastrous environmental and climate impact. The sector accounts for an estimated 5-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The social and economic impacts of fast fashion are equally severe, with numerous scandals involving human rights violations and labour exploitation in producing countries, alongside a dramatic decline in employment within the European textile industry.
What makes the French law special
The French law is one of the boldest policy moves to date to curb the detrimental impacts of textile overproduction, and it could inspire other countries to regulate fast fashion and hold producers accountable.
Notably, the law would introduce advertising restrictions for brands that aggressively market cheap and disposable garments, and impose penalties on ultra-fast fashion products sold in France, with fines proportionate to companies’ environmental impacts.
How would it work? Newly revised EU waste laws mandate Member States to set up Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes to cover the costs associated with textile products once they are discarded, and allows them to modulate the fees paid by producers based on volume and ecodesign criteria.
The French law would go further and give EPR rules for textiles more teeth, by introducing fees that penalise the commercial practices driving overproduction in the fashion sector.
Pierre Condamine Overproduction Campaigner, Les Amis de la Terre – Friends of the Earth France, told New Leaf:
The French proposal is a unique opportunity to truly tackle the harmful model of overproduction in the clothing industry. France and the EU must be role models by ensuring the swift adoption of the legislation in its most ambitious version.
Stuck in the middle with EU
At the end of last year, the European Commission hit the brakes, questioning the law’s alignment with EU waste and single market rules, and claiming the proposed penalties may be too severe.
Civil society groups from across Europe rejected this argument and called on the Commission to let the French fast fashion law pass. In an open letter signed by 66 organisations, including the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and Les Amis de la Terre, they argue that EU waste laws allow Member States to set rates and criteria for eco-modulation rules in national legislation. They also stress that the French approach is necessary to guarantee the organisations running EPR schemes do not settle for the lowest possible level of ambition.
At the same time, the EEB argues that governments have the right to introduce measures that go beyond the minimum requirements set by EU laws – and that the pursuit of single market integrity should not be used to restrict it.
Emily Macintosh, Senior Policy Officer for Textiles at the EEB, said:
The Commission must walk the talk about curbing fashion’s detrimental impacts. EPR schemes must represent real incentives for brands to change how they operate. We must act now to tackle the never-ending stream of fashion items with no resale value flooding the global second-hand textile market.
In the hot seat
As the fast fashion debate unravels in Brussels, a senior executive from Shein will appear before the European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee on 27 January.
Pressure had mounted on the fast fashion giant to meet with the Parliament, amid growing concerns over its impacts on EU consumers and the environment, as well as alleged breaches of EU law.
Committee Chair, MEP Anna Cavazzini, said:
Complying with EU law is not optional if you want to do business in the single market. This also applies to e-commerce platforms and companies like Shein that flood the single market with unsafe and illegal products, following a business model that systematically violates EU law. In our January meeting, MEPs will be able to closely scrutinise both the Commission’s enforcement efforts and the conduct of major online marketplaces.
Back in December, eight EU countries – Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Spain – called on the EU to take stronger action against the risks posed by e-commerce platforms.