• French Senate has approved a law to curb ultra fast-fashion brands like Shein and Temu.
• The legislation aims to reduce the environmental impact caused by textile waste.
• New penalties may reach €10 per item by 2030 for companies not meeting set environmental criteria.
• Certain restrictions are relaxed for European fast-fashion brands to support local businesses.

France's Senate has passed a revised version of a law designed to regulate fast fashion, specifically targeting rapid-growth Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Shein and Temu. The nearly unanimous vote in the upper house of parliament came as a modification to a bill initially passed by the lower house last year, which aims to address the substantial environmental impact of the textile industry, according to Channel News Asia, TRTGlobal, and Reuters.

The law delineates between "ultra" fast fashion and "classic" fast fashion, imposing stricter penalties for the former while easing regulations for European entities like Zara and Kiabi. Critics, however, have expressed concerns that such modifications may fail to sufficiently address excessive consumption and waste associated with low-priced garments, which exacerbate environmental degradation. Jean-Francois Longeot, chair of the Senate's Committee on Regional Planning and Sustainable Development, noted that the clarifications allow for targeting companies that disregard environmental and social realities, particularly referencing Shein and Temu, according to Channel News Asia and Reuters.

In response to the vote, Shein claimed its business model is "part of the solution, not the problem," reinforcing its position against being classified strictly as a fast-fashion company. The new law also introduces potential penalties for non-compliance in meeting certain environmental benchmarks, requiring companies to meet a minimum of €10 per clothing item by 2030, or face fines of up to 50% of the product's price excluding tax, as reported by TRTGlobal and Reuters.

The French government is now tasked with notifying the European Commission about this vote, which will involve the establishment of a joint committee to reconcile differences between the Senate's and the lower house's versions of the legislation before it is enacted, according to Channel News Asia, TRTGlobal, and Reuters.