2 days ago
French Senate backs law to regulate ultra fast fashion
The French Senate overwhelmingly backed a new bill designed to regulate low-cost clothing giants on Tuesday, mainly targeting Chinese e-commerce platforms Shein and Temu.
The text aims to tackle the environmental and economic consequences of fast fashion, a model that thrives on mass production and low prices.
The legislation introduces an eco-score system that will evaluate the environmental impact of products sold by fast fashion companies, including emissions, resource use, and recyclability.
Brands with the lowest scores could be taxed up to €5 per item starting in 2025, increasing to €10 by 2030. However, the tax cannot exceed 50% of the item's retail price.
It also includes a ban on advertising for ultra-fast fashion brands and sanctions for influencers who promote them online.
While the bill takes aim at ultra-fast fashion platforms like Shein and Temu, it notably spares major European players such as Zara, H&M, and Kiabi from the harshest penalties.
Environmental groups have criticised the revised bill for what they see as a weakened ambition.
'It's a missed opportunity,' said Pierre Condamine, campaign manager at Friends of the Earth France.
'We've got a text that's going to target two brands and therefore leave out what represents at least 90% of production and clothing sold in France. So it's a missed opportunity. We could have a real environmental ambition. We are very disappointed because, in the end, we can see that it's economic protection that has become the major driving force behind this bill. In contrast, at its beginning, there was an ambition to move the sector towards more sustainable practices," he told Euronews.
But some French lawmakers argue the bill needs to protect European industries first. 'Unfortunately, we have no choice,' said conservative Senator Sylvie Valente Le Hir.
'Today, we still have to defend what's left of our European industries. We have to make a distinction between the production that's done in China by these giants. We're talking about scales that are 100 times larger than us. So we're preserving European and French industries for the time being, because if we don't, there will be nothing left," she told Euronews.
Shein spokesperson Quentin Ruffat responded to the bill earlier this week, warning that the text could "impact the purchasing power" of French consumers.
Between 2010 and 2023, the value of advertised fast fashion products in France rose from €2.3 billion to €3.2 billion.
In France, 35 clothing items are discarded every second, according to the country's environment agency Ademe.
The Senate passed the bill with 337 votes in favour and only one against. The text will now move to a joint committee of senators and deputies in September.
The European Commission will also need to be notified to ensure the bill complies with EU regulations.
If passed, it would mark one of the most aggressive legislative efforts in Europe to address the toll of fast fashion, though its ultimate impact remains to be seen.
Several hundred people attended a mass after a former student opened fire at a school in Austria's second-biggest city – Graz – on Tuesday, killing 10 people and injuring many others before taking his own life, according to authorities.
There was no immediate information on the motive of the 21-year-old man, who had no previous police records. Two weapons were used to execute the attack, which the attacker is believed to have owned legally, police said.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker as well as Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler and Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger attended the mass at Graz Cathedral.
"It shocked me a lot like everybody else," said local resident Elisabeth Schuster.
Thinking of the victims and their loved ones, Schuster came to the mass to show her solidarity.
"I'm with them, feel for them. And I hope that together we can find a way, so that something like this never happens again," she added.
Special forces were among those sent as part of the first response team to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school, about a kilometre from Graz's historic centre, after calls at 10 am local time reporting shots at the building.
More than 300 police officers were also deployed to the scene, who helped evacuate students from the school. Footage from the scene showed students filing out quickly past armed officers. Police said security was restored in 17 minutes.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the gunman had been a student at the school and hadn't completed his studies.
People also gathered for a candle lit vigil in Graz's main square to mourn the victims of the fatal attack.
Footage showed dozens of the city's residents in attendance for the event to mark what has become one of the most violent attacks in the city's recent memory.
