France fines Shein over 22 million euros for traceability and consumer law violations

France's fraud authority has issued two fines to Shein totalling over 22 million euros (25.56 million dollars), it announced on Wednesday. The authority cited failures related to product traceability, environmental claims, withdrawal periods and delivery times.

The institution, which reports to the French Ministry of Finance, has increased the total penalties imposed on the Asian fashion giant in France in recent years. These now amount to over 210 million euros in total.

The two latest fines were issued following a wide-ranging investigation into several e-commerce platforms, particularly non-European ones, including Shein.

The first fine, for 5.77 million euros, targets Infinite Styles Ecommerce Limited (ISEL), the company that sells clothing and accessories under the Shein brand.

The General Directorate for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) accuses Shein of failing to respect the 14-day withdrawal period for certain purchased products.

The DGCCRF also cited the omission of mandatory traceability information, such as the countries of weaving, dyeing and manufacturing for its garments. It also noted the failure to mention the presence of microplastics in fabrics. These are mainly found in polyester and are released into the water with every machine wash, which is a significant ecological problem.

Shein stated that the DGCCRF "confuses (...) the right of withdrawal with our more advantageous commercial returns policy". The company also cited a "technical incident" for the "temporary" absence of environmental information.

Furthermore, the DGCCRF fined another Shein company, Infinite Styles Services Limited (ISSL), 16.73 million euros. ISSL manages the marketplace, which is the online platform offering products from both Shein and its partner sellers.

The authority noted numerous breaches of consumer law. At the order confirmation stage, the unit price of each product is not provided. Delivery times, information on the identity of partner sellers and their contact details are also missing. This information must be provided on a "durable medium" to be retained by the customer.

Shein argued that this information is available in the customer's account.

Shein considers these sanctions to be "manifestly disproportionate and discriminatory", while minister of commerce Serge Papin has condemned the platform for "unfair competition".

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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