What France’s bill on ultra-fast fashion means for the sector

France is attempting to limit the negative environmental and social impacts of ultra-fast fashion with new legislation including an advertising ban and fines.

Adopted in France’s Senate last week, the bill clearly targets Chinese ultra-fast fashion platforms like SHEIN, Temu and AliExpress – arguing that these incite overconsumption, with disastrous environmental consequences.

French law excludes ‘traditional fast fashion’ operators

The initial text, drafted by the ‘Stop Fast Fashion’ Coalition, covered the fast fashion industry in general, but the French Senate adopted an amendment that will effectively exempt brands like H&M, Zara and others from its remit.

The new draft, which will now be debated and finalised in Q3 or Q4 2025, notes that ultra-fast fashion differs from “traditional fast fashion” due to its overproduction and overconsumption model, which is “incompatible with environmental sustainability goals”.

The latest Fossil Free Fashion Scorecard by NGO Stand.earth arguably confirms this distinction: while H&M received the ranking’s first ever B+ by improving its climate and sustainable supply chain performance, SHEIN obtained the lowest score in the report. 

The retailer saw a 170% increase in absolute emissions in the last two years, with the NGO blaming its fast-to-market strategy, which involves sending individual packages directly to consumers by air freight instead of surface or marine transportation. 

Ultra-fast fashion advertising ban

The bill aims to raise awareness about ultra-fast fashion’s environmental impact among consumers – but its most impactful measure is a ban on advertising for companies with this commercial model.

Platforms like SHEIN and Temu do most of their advertising on social media, so the law extends to influencers, who would risk a €100,000 fine for promoting their products, even if they only received payment in the form of gifts or trips.

In addition, brands will be forced to display information about the social and environmental impacts of their products and their manufacturing location next to product unit prices on their websites and apps. Words like “free delivery” will also be banned. 

If the law is ratified, these measures would be applied as early as January 2026.

Fines for ultra-fast fashion brands

The law seeks to include non-EU ultra-fast fashion brands into Europe’s Extended Producer Responsibility rules for textile producers, forcing them to contribute financially to their products’ end-of-life treatment.

An environmental rating would also be given to these products, with fines of €5 per item starting next year, and increasing to €10 by 2030, for the lowest-rated products – though the law specifies that fines would be limited to 50% of the price of the product before tax. 

“Whether we’re talking about fast fashion or ultra-fast fashion, the economic model remains the same: a frantic race towards ever-lower production costs and unsustainable overproduction. This system can only exist at the expense of the environment and the fundamental rights of workers. It is imperative that all industry players fundamentally rethink their economic model. This law represents a real opportunity to support them in this necessary transition,” commented Valeria Rodriguez, Advocacy Director at fair trade label Max Havelaar France.