The Ultra-Fast fashion retailer Shein was fined 40 million euros. The brand was criticized by the French General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) due to misleading business practices against consumers: inside.
The sanction is the result of an investigation against the Infinite Style E-Commerce LTD (ISEL), which is responsible for the sale of Shein products. This emerges from a message from the DGCCRF. The investigation showed that the prices of several thousand products on the Fr.hein.com website were increased. Isel is said to have deceived consumers: inside the actual amount of the discounts.
According to the DGCCRF announcement, the regulation on price reductions defines the reference price as the lowest price, which was requested in the 30 days before the start of an advertising campaign. Shein violated these provisions. The company did not take into account previous advertising campaigns or increased prices before discounting.
This sanction follows a measure of the European Commission of May 27, 2025 against the online platform. The Commission asked Shein to end several misleading or abusive practices against European consumers: inside. This included false discounts, purchase pressure, misleading information and non -transparency of certain information.
From May 27, Shein had a month to react to these findings. Depending on the answer, financial sanctions could be imposed. This was read on the French Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Wrong environmental promise
The DGCCRF also found that Shein could not prove the environmental promises on its website. The organization referred to the statement in particular that Shein was a responsible company that limits its environmental impact by reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent.
In the meantime, the website seems to have changed this claim. On the company’s social responsibility, it now states that the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (SCOPE END, two and three) should be reached by 25 percent by 2030.
In France, Shein continues its growth course with a retail strategy based at the opening of pop-up stores. The last one was opened in Dijon at the end of June.
The rise of Shein in France worries the actors of the fashion industry and several organizations that want to reduce the effects of fast fashion on the environment. The company, whose business model is based on extremely low prices and a variety of articles in the catalog, was the subject of a petition entitled ‘Stopshein’. It is also one of the main companies that are affected by a legislative proposal, the so-called anti-fat fashion law. This was adopted by the French Senate on June 10th.
Shein reacts
Shein confirms that the ISEL company has been informed about “several violations of reference prices and discounts and requirements of the environmental regulations – in particular the labeling of products with microfibers made of plastic and/or the prohibition of vague or incomplete information on their environmental effects”.
Nevertheless, according to the company based in Singapore, the accusations of the DGCCRF come from over a year ago. It adds: “Immediately after the notification of these points by the DGCCRF in March 2024, Isel immediately initiated the necessary corrective measures that were concluded within two months in accordance with the new regulations that have come into force. All points mentioned have been processed for over a year. For everyone, our priority is.
This post was added to Shein on 3 July 2025 at 4:48 p.m.
This article was used with digital tools translated.
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