France Considers Penalties on Fast Fashion Companies to Offset Their Environmental Impact

A Shein “pop up” quick style retailer in Madrid, Spain on June 2, 2022. Alberto Ortega / Europa Press by way of Getty Photos

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France is weighing whether or not to implement penalty charges that quick style firms must pay per merchandise bought as a method to offset the environmental impression of the business.

Members of parliament (MPs) in France proposed a invoice that may cost as much as 50% of the promoting value of quick style gadgets to manufacturers like Shein, which was named within the invoice, and Temu. The invoice famous that Shein alone has greater than 470,000 merchandise out there, with greater than 7,200 new gadgets each day, Reuters reported.

“This evolution of the attire sector in the direction of ephemeral style, combining elevated volumes and low costs, is influencing client shopping for habits by creating shopping for impulses and a relentless want for renewal, which isn’t with out environmental, social and financial penalties,” the invoice stated.

As of 2019, 43% of surveyed customers in France stated they sometimes bought their clothes from quick style retailers, in response to Statista. The second-highest responses had been on-line second-hand retailers and brick-and-mortar thrift shops, every at 8%.

As a response, and in an effort towards a extra round financial system as outlined within the AGEC regulation handed in 2020, lawmakers in France have proposed charging quick style firms as much as 10 euros (about $10.87) per quick style merchandise bought or as much as 50% of the promoting value, with penalties going into impact by 2030.

Final yr, France started providing monetary incentive for residents to restore their very own clothes. The initiative allowed residents to assert between 6 and 25 euros (about $6.52 to $27.17) on the price of repairs accomplished by licensed restore professionals, The Guardian reported.

The previous measure, which kicked off in October 2023, coupled with the consideration of recent penalties for quick style retailers is supposed to curb the quantity of clothes waste within the nation. As reported by The Guardian, individuals throw out about 700,000 metric tons of clothes in France annually, and about 66% of that waste is shipped to landfills.

The quick style penalty charges shall be mentioned by a parliamentary committee, then offered to parliament in late March, Reuters reported.

In keeping with Christophe Béchu, Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion of France, there shall be extra proposals to curb the adverse environmental impacts of the style business, together with a possible ban on ultra-fast style promoting and monetary incentives to decrease the price of sustainable clothes whereas growing the price of ultra-fast style gadgets.

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