New French Law Aims to Combat Fast-Fashion Waste
- Editor OGN Daily
- 28 minutes ago
- 2 min read
France has moved closer to becoming the first European country to regulate ultra-fast fashion companies.
The law would force fast fashion companies to pay penalties of at least 10 euros per clothing item by 2030. Companies could face fines up to 50 percent of each product’s pre-tax price if they fail to meet environmental standards. The legislation targets both traditional fast fashion brands like Spain’s Zara and ultra-fast fashion companies such as Chinese retailers Shein and Temu.
It’s one of the boldest policy moves yet from a major fashion market, sending a clear message that the era of unchecked disposable fashion may be coming to an end, says Forbes, adding that fashion is responsible for roughly 10 percent of global carbon emissions. It generates over 90 million tonnes of textile waste every year. And most recycling schemes are still small-scale, unable to keep up with the sheer volume of cheap and short-use clothing flowing through the system.
In that context, France’s move is both a practical and symbolic line in the sand. It acknowledges that voluntary industry commitments and consumer pressure alone aren't enough. Regulation has to be part of the answer. Indeed, in 2022, the European Commission called for an end to fast fashion by 2030.
Under the new rules in France, fashion companies must tell customers about the environmental impact of their products. The law measures company size by the number of different clothing styles they offer, not just total sales numbers. The bill also bans advertising for fast fashion products. Social media influencers who promote these items would face sanctions under the law.
French lawmakers worry about the explosion of cheap, disposable clothing flooding their market - now numbered at over 3 billion pieces annually, and the nation throws away 35 clothing items every second. The problem, as law makers see it, is that younger shoppers frequently purchase multiple low-cost items monthly rather than investing in fewer, higher-quality pieces. As Giorgio Armani said, back in 2020: "I've always believed in an idea of timeless elegance, in making clothes that suggest only one way to buy them: that they last over time." Adding that he thought fast fashion was "immoral".
However, this shift in consumer behaviour directly contributed to the surge in clothing imports that prompted the French fast fashion law. Senator Sylvie Valente Le Hir, who helped lead the bill’s passage, said the law “will put the brakes on these Chinese giants who are invading us without any controls, without any standards, without paying any taxes in France.”
The bill now goes to a joint committee of senators and lower house deputies before requiring final approval from both the French parliament and the European Commission.
Secondhand Clothing Sales Growth: Whatever you wish to call it - pre-loved, vintage, secondhand, recycled - clothing has never been so, well, loved. Study says that resale will more than double by 2028, growing 6.4 x faster than the broader retail clothing sector and representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17%.