How the EU is pushing back against fast fashion

Irish Examiner

25-04-2025

The EU has just launched a probe into fast fashion giant Shein, while the European Commission is asking the company to provide information about the presence of illegal content and goods on its digital marketplace.
Fast fashion is the clothing industry business model where fashions go from the catwalk to mass consumption with unparalleled speed. In a world in climate crisis, how we choose to spend our money today has a direct impact on the lives of others. Buying cheap clothes that don't last is getting more and more difficult to justify.
Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews is one of the co-negotiators of the EU's proposed Directive on Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence as well as the EU's Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. He points out that Shein has been consistently criticised for its promotion of ultra-fast fashion and for its unwillingness to share details about its manufacturing practices.
'In years gone by,' he says, 'there used to be two fashion seasons a year: summer and winter. With Shein and the advent of ultra-fast fashion, there are now 52 seasons a year.
Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews: 'The EU is currently working on a number of pieces of legislation protecting human rights and the environment in companies' supply chains.'
"This leads to unsustainable waste, the destruction of our environment and the inability of Irish and European companies to compete.'
You would think that not having to pay top dollar for top brands was a good development, but the race to the bottom has meant that production is concentrated in places of high poverty, low economic development and no protections for workers.
There are four million textile workers in Bangladesh, working for very low wages in over 5,000 factories. 85% of workers are women, and many of the factories in which they work are not up to standard.
The Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh was so poorly built that it collapsed in 2013, killing 1,100 and injuring 2,500. This event garnered international headlines, but the truth is that hundreds of Bangladeshi workers have died in factory fires over the past decade.
'Shein is facing allegations of sourcing Uyghur-produced cotton,' says Mr Andrews, 'effectively using modern slavery and forced labour to produce their clothes at such a cheap cost. In addition to this, they are facing a number of lawsuits for blatantly copying other fashion retailer's designs as well as being one of the world's least transparent fashion companies.'
'The EU is currently working on a number of pieces of legislation protecting human rights and the environment in companies' supply chains.
We cannot and should not have products entering our market that were made by forced labour. I think that the government should pressure Shein into shining more light on their business model and ensure that consumers have more transparency about what they are buying.
"Human rights and environmental abuses should not be allowed in our shopping baskets.'
The other issue with these clothes is that they are produced in factories which are many thousands of miles from the western markets where we buy them. That means that huge amounts of carbon are burned to get them here. It's estimated that the fashion industry accounts for as much as 10% of global CO2 emissions – more than all international flights and shipping combined.
Environmental news outlet, EcoWatch says that dyeing clothes involves a 'toxic cocktail' of chemicals.
"Denim production alone is the second-largest polluter of fresh water on the planet. An estimated 70% of Asia's lakes and rivers are contaminated by over 2.5 billion gallons of waste from the textile industry, resulting in a massive ecological and public health crisis.'
The clothing industry also creates astonishing amounts of waste – an estimated 92 million tons per year. These clothes aren't designed to last, and recycling rates are abysmally low – less than 1%.
New rules
As Mr Andrews points out, legislatures are now turning to face this problem. In February, the EU Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on new measures to prevent and reduce waste from food and textiles across the EU.
According to the deal, EU countries would have to establish producer responsibility (EPR) schemes, through which producers that make textiles available in an EU country would have to cover the costs for their collection, sorting and recycling.
That's the good news. The bad news is that under the terms of this deal, they don't have to do this until two-and-a-half years after the directive comes into force. So a great deal more waste will be generated before we can expect an effective legislative response.
The new rules would cover products such as clothing and accessories, footwear, blankets, bed and kitchen linen, curtains, hats. We're also seeing pushback against fast fashion by consumers anxious to do the right thing and not become part of the problem.
Turning the tide
Fashion Revolution was set up in the aftermath of the Rana tragedy in 2013 with the aim of turning the tide on fast fashion and finding alternative ways of running the clothing industry. This is their vision: "A global fashion industry that conserves and restores the environment and values people over growth and profit."
Oxfam Ireland offers an ethical and transparent stock solution tailored to the needs of clothing industry businesses. By collaborating with Oxfam, manufacturers and retailers increase their collective impact and influence by extending the life of their product and diverting from landfill and/or incineration. The charity also offers a free collection service for excess stock across the Island of Ireland and most European countries.
The Ethical Consumer organisation offers these tips to help turn your back on fast fashion:
1. Make a second-hand pledge. Buy only second-hand for a year. Traid, an organisation working against fast fashion encourages people to commit to sourcing a chosen percentage of their wardrobe second-hand rather than buying new.
2. Upcycle. Instead of throwing clothes away, adapt them. Or buy second-hand and alter them to fit you.
3. Swap clothes with friends, or lend them if you don't want to part with them permanently. Have a clothing-swap party.
4. Clear out your wardrobe. If you haven't worn something for a year, bring it to a charity shop or find some other way of giving it a new home.
5. Limit the number of items you have. Project 333 suggests wearing just 33 items for 3 months, and the Capsule Wardrobe Challenge is to never own more than 37 items.
6. Look after your existing clothing. Even if we love our clothes, we often replace them once they lose their shape, get holes or go bobbly. By buying higher quality clothes and washing them at a lower temperature (30 degrees) and less often, they last longer.
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European Union launches probe into fashion website Shein