The French Senate faces the challenge of braking the rise of ‘Fast Fashion’.
One of the most important measures is the legal definition of ‘fast fashion’. Criteria for this are the quantities produced, the speed of collection renewal, the limited lifespan of the products and the low incentive to repair them. The companies concerned would then be committed to measures such as the sensitization of consumers: on the inside for the environmental impact of their clothing. The legislative proposal also provides for stricter sanctions for these platforms through a revised ‘bonus malus system’ that takes into account the environmental costs of excessive production.
With this system there seems to be different opinions at the National Assembly and the Senate. The MPs: Inside, these punishments want to build on the environmental marking of the products, a new evaluation method. However, the Senate has deleted this reference in coordination with the government in the Commission and prefers criteria that relate to sustainability and business practices of these platforms. This new wording aims more at the ‘Ultra-Fast-Fashion’ of the Asian companies Shein and Temu and at the same time protects other European or French companies that would have been affected by the text adopted in the National Assembly.
“The idea is to target the extreme models,” says the Ministry of Ecological Change. “This is the case with the ‘Ultra-Fast fashion’, since the number of articles is in no way in relation to what you could simply call ‘Fast Fashion’.”
This realignment of the text worries the ‘Stop Fast Fashion’ Coalition, which brings fourteen environmental and human rights organizations together, including Emmaüs, France Nature Environnement, Les Amis de la Terre and Zero Waste. In her view, the initiative could become “To an empty case without a daunting effect”. Another sign that the debate is carefully pursued: Two associations, Les Amis de la Terre and the observatoire of multinational, have increased the pressure on Shein in recent days. They asked the high authority for transparency in public life (HATVP) to “carry out their control rights” about the lobbying of the company, and accuse the giants of “irregularities”, founded in China but based in Singapore.
“I hope that my college will be able to push the Lobbies back on the inside,” says socialist senator Nicole Bonnefoy, who is concerned about a “current tendency in parliament that favored environmental breaks”. The discussions in the plenary hall will also be about the ban on advertising for ‘fast fashion’ companies. The Senate majority, an alliance of rights and centrists, spoke out against this because it would restrict “freedom of entrepreneurs”. However, the government supports the ban and will try to reintroduce it again, supported by the left.
This article was used with digital tools translated.
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