France is edging closer to a tougher stance on ultra-fast fashion. Lawmakers advanced a bill that would impose per-product fines on fast fashion companies, block them from advertising, and prohibit online influencers from promoting them, as Reuters reported.
If it takes effect, the law could begin reshaping what French consumers see online and how cheaply made clothes find their way into closets.
What happened?
After more than two years of back-and-forth between France's two houses of parliament, the Senate on Monday approved an updated anti-fast-fashion bill, according to Reuters.
"What is at stake today is not just clothes, but the societal model we want to defend," Serge Papin, minister for small enterprises, declared in a speech ahead of the vote, per Reuters.
The revised text was crafted to comply with European Union rules while targeting online-only "ultra-fast-fashion" retailers like Shein and Temu, the outlet reported.
Companies that fall into that category could be fined between 0.25 euros and 6 euros for each item this year, Reuters said. By 2030, those penalties could increase to as much as 10 euros per item, lawmakers said.
TCD Picks » EDF Spotlight
💡EDF's Vital Signs newsletter delivers stories about game-changing solutions close to home and around the world
The measure would also bar ultra-fast-fashion companies from advertising and prevent online influencers from endorsing them, according to Reuters. The outlet noted the measure still requires promulgation by France's president before it can be enforced.
Earlier versions passed the lower house in March 2024 and the Senate in June 2025, before the bill was narrowed to focus on online-only ultra-fast-fashion companies rather than European fast-fashion brands such as Zara and H&M, Reuters reported.
Why does it matter?
Ultra-fast fashion has come to represent a low-cost, high-waste shopping model where clothes are produced quickly, sold cheaply, worn briefly, and often discarded just as fast.
That cycle can leave shoppers spending money on garments that do not last, while also generating enormous amounts of textile waste.
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
When online retailers flood shoppers with ultra-low prices and nonstop ads, it can normalize buying clothing that needs to be replaced quickly. Ironically, that pattern may quietly raise household spending over time rather than reduce it.
There are also broader environmental and public health consequences. Manufacturing and shipping huge volumes of disposable clothing require energy, water, and chemicals, while discarded textiles can add to pollution burdens in communities that process or dump waste.
What's being done?
France is attempting to use policy to slow the ultra-fast-fashion pipeline. By combining fines with an advertising ban and restrictions on influencers, lawmakers aim to curb both the supply of disposable products and the marketing machine that drives demand.
Lawmakers have also tightened the bill since earlier proposals, directing it at online platforms associated with ultra-fast fashion instead of casting a wider net across the entire apparel industry. That narrower focus may improve its chances of surviving legal scrutiny under EU rules.
Shein responded to the bill by telling Reuters that aspects of it "appear to retain inconsistencies with the applicable European framework governing digital services and e-commerce."
Papin countered that the companies it zeroed in on are exactly the ones that constitute the problem.
"The industry targeted by this bill is one that floods our markets with disposable fashion, with clothes worn only a few weeks before being thrown away," he said, according to Reuters.
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
