The text, which must be adopted this Monday, mainly targets Asian platforms and provides for financial penalties and an advertising ban.
This Monday, June 29, 2026, Parliament should definitively adopt a bill aimed at curbing the rise of fast fashion, embodied by the Asian giant Shein. This vote comes two and a half years after the tabling of the law, which has in the meantime been tightened around ultra fast fashion.
A sector under fire from criticism
The textile sector represents nearly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, platforms are accused of flooding the market with low-end products at knockdown prices, generating mountains of waste and significant pollution. “Three platforms carry this surge. Their names, still unknown three years ago, […] are now in the mouths of every French person: it is Temu, Shein and AliExpress”, declared the Minister of Commerce Serge Papin during the adoption of the text in the National Assembly last week.
It is the Senate’s turn on Monday to vote on this compromise text, negotiated between the two chambers. It is now targeting “ultra-express fashion”, defined by two cumulative criteria: the width of the range, that is to say the volumes of clothing placed on the market, and the incentive to repair (a coefficient between the price of the product, compared to what its repair would cost). The thresholds relating to the number of garments referenced, as well as this coefficient, will be defined by decree.
The government’s stated objective is to target large Asian platforms (such as Shein and Temu), but to spare European and French companies (such as Zara or Kiabi). This restricted scope sparked strong criticism from the left, which abstained almost entirely during the vote. “Under the weight of lobbies, the initial ambition of the text was considerably reduced,” lamented Charles Fournier (environmental group). The Stop Fast Fashion coalition of associations, which notably brings together Emmaüs, Max Havelaar and Friends of the Earth, also denounced “a very diminished version” of the text.
Faced with these criticisms, MP Anne-Cécile Violland (Horizons), at the origin of the text, defended the approach: “We needed to have a text that works very quickly and is operational.” She added: “I’m comfortable with saying, first of all, we’re hitting Shein really hard, and that’s the first step.”
The text establishes on the one hand a financial penalty per product, which will increase over time. A government amendment adopted in the Assembly strengthened these penalties, which could go up to 20 euros per piece in 2030, still capped at 50% of the product’s price excluding tax. Part of these penalties will go to collection and recycling infrastructure.
On the other hand, the text provides that ultra fast fashion companies display messages on their site encouraging in particular “sobriety, reuse, repair”. Above all, it prohibits advertising for these brands, including via influencers.
Uncertainties over the application of the advertising ban
However, uncertainty remains over the possibility of this advertising ban actually coming into force. The European Commission has expressed reservations about the compliance of certain measures with European law. The French government said it relies on the derogatory principles which allowed, for example, the Evin law to regulate advertising for alcohol and tobacco, explained Anne-Cécile Violland. “We believe that we are not contravening” European law, she insisted. But the Commission could actually “disagree” with these arguments, in which case “we will not be able to enforce” the measure, she conceded.
The law, if definitively adopted, will mark a first step in the regulation of ultra fast fashion in France, even if its scope and effectiveness remain debated.
