Former French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner has joined a panel advising fast fashion giant Shein, according to a report by news media La Lettre. The appointment of the politician, who served as interior minister from October 2018 to July 2020, has sparked heated discussions amid ongoing opposition to the company.
“Who actually represents France’s interests here?” asks Julia Faure, co-founder of the fashion brand Loom, in a LinkedIn post. She refers to the cooperation between the former interior minister and Shein. Faure points out that this news falls into a specific legal context: the so-called anti-fast fashion law. This law provides for a number of measures to curb environmental pollution caused by disposable fashion.
On March 14, 2024, the French National Assembly unanimously passed a corresponding draft law in the first reading with amendments. The text is currently being examined in the Senate. The law joins a series of measures developed in recent years, including the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Act (AGEC) of 2020, the Climate Protection and Resilience Act of 2021 and the Act to Strengthen Environmental Regulation in the digital sector from the same year.
A former interior minister at Shein
As La Lettre reports, Christophe Castaner has been appointed to a panel advising Shein on issues of social and environmental impact, particularly in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR). According to the report, the former minister specialized in lobbying and operates through his company Villanelle Conseil. This describes itself on LinkedIn as a “consulting firm for public affairs, government relations and institutional communications”. Villanelle Conseil states that it supports “various organizations in developing strategies in the areas of public affairs, institutional relations, crisis management and corporate communications.”
However, Castaner is not the first politician to work for Shein. Already in the summer of this year, the company hired the former EU Commissioner for Energy, Günther Oettinger, as a consultant. Oettinger will help Shein intensify its lobbying work and navigate the complex environment of European regulations.
The allegations against the cheap fashion brand are diverse: from massive overproduction of clothing and precarious working conditions to unfair competition with French brands and misleading advertising campaigns. In addition to the significant environmental impact of this fashion giant, the industry is particularly concerned about Shein’s enormous market dominance in France. According to the “Stop Shein” petition site, launched in June 2023, the company offers up to 8,000 new items every day. To date, 57,938 people have signed the petition.