For years, fast fashion has thrived on a global supply chain built for speed, scale and, most crucially, exemptions. But with the stroke of a pen, the US has redrawn the rules. President Donald Trump’s latest executive order, coming into effect on August 29, ends the de minimis tariff exemption for goods under 800 dollars, a loophole that...
10 hours ago
Fast fashion giant Shein is believed to have confidentially filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong as it looks to pressure UK regulators to approve of a London listing. This is according to sources for the Financial Times (FT), who said the China-founded, Singapore-based company had privately filed a draft prospectus with Hong Kong’s...
Jul 8, 2025
June ended with yet another blow to Europe’s struggling post-consumer textiles sector: Texaid Germany filed for insolvency. This is a significant setback for the group and for the broader reuse and recycling ecosystem. Just as European policymakers begin to treat textile waste with the seriousness it deserves, the very infrastructure needed to...
Jul 4, 2025
The ultra fast fashion retailer Shein has been fined 40 million euros. The brand was reprimanded by France's Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) for misleading commercial practices towards consumers. The sanction follows an investigation into Infinite Style E-commerce LTD (ISEL), the company...
Jul 3, 2025
Purchases of new clothing, footwear and household linen reached a record high in France in 2024, with an average of 42 items per person, the organisation Refashion revealed at a press conference on Tuesday. In 2024, 3.5 billion new pieces were purchased, or 10 million per day, Vanessa Gutierrez, head of studies at Refashion, the body tasked by...
Jun 17, 2025
H&M is pushing further into premium retail territory with the opening of a new shop-in-shop at Paris' Galeries Lafayette, one of Europe’s most symbolic department stores. The 63-square-metre corner features the brand’s 'Adorable' childrenswear line, a follow-up to its 2024 launch at Selfridges in London. Targeting more affluent consumers, the...
Jun 16, 2025
The French Senate is due to vote Tuesday on a bill to regulate the fast fashion industry, by sanctioning companies and banning advertisements. The bill is targeted at Chinese-founded e-commerce giant Shein, which has a reputation for selling lower quality clothes at a very low price. Easy to order and replace, fast fashion items are exported to...
Jun 10, 2025
The desire for secondhand shopping is widespread, yet finding high-quality thrift items is increasingly challenging due to fast fashion dominating selections. This raises questions: Is this deterring people from choosing preloved goods? Can we address the scarcity of quality donations and also create a more affordable thrifting alternative? This...
Twenty-five European consumer organisations have lodged a joint complaint against Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein, accusing the company of misleading consumers and promoting overconsumption through manipulative design elements on its website and mobile app. The complaint, addressed to European regulators, alleges that Shein employs so-called ‘...
Jun 5, 2025
Regarding the ‘anti-fast fashion’ bill, debated on June 2, 2025, the Sénat enacted a general ban on advertising, which French senators in committee had opposed. With the government's support and thanks to lobbying by fashion federations, the Sénat reinstated the article that provided for a general ban on advertising ultra-fast fashion in...
Jun 4, 2025
Paris - After considerable time in Parliament, a bill to curb ‘fast fashion’ was reviewed in the French Senate. The Senate aimed to legislate against this ‘short-lived’ or ‘disposable’ fashion shipped at discounted prices from China, with giants Shein and Temu in its sights. Inexpensive, of poor quality, easy to order, often highly polluting and...
Jun 2, 2025
Shein, the global ultra-fast fashion behemoth known for releasing thousands of new styles weekly at rock-bottom prices, announced this week that its climate targets have been officially validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The retailer has pledged to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with interim targets that...
May 28, 2025