French senate passes advertising ban for fast fashion

Business

Vestiaire Collective’s 2025 campaign. Credits: Vestiaire Collective

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 traditional media (terms to be defined).

While rapporteur Sylvie Valente Le Hir (Les Républicains affiliate) insisted that advertising cannot be prohibited, ‘this could be considered as disproportionately infringing on the freedom to conduct business, with regard to the environmental protection objective pursued’, the federations used their lobbying power.

‘We understand and respect the Sénat’s integrity, but it is not up to the challenge,’ said French Federation of Women’s Ready-to-Wear (FFPAPF) president Yann Rivoallan, a staunch opponent of Shein, interviewed by FashionUnited following this turnaround. ‘One of the levers that allows Shein to grow at a frantic pace is precisely its colossal advertising spending. But advertising is both its strength and its Achilles' heel.’

Eu validation of advertising ban for ultra fast fashion?

The risk? That this decision may not be compatible with European regulations. In Europe, the possibility of banning advertising, even if it does not concern explicitly prohibited subjects (such as tobacco or products harmful to health), is limited by principles of economic freedom.

On this subject, Minister for Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher replied that she was ‘doing politics’. According to her, a vote ‘carried by all the political groups’ of the Sénat next week, after the unanimous yes vote by the deputies, will be ‘a vote that will be heard’, likely to shift the lines at the European level.

‘Moreover,’ commented the FFPAPF president, ‘it is possible to override European law provided that financial penalties are paid. To avoid this, we insisted that fast fashion brands engage in greenwashing, as demonstrated by Paris Good Fashion.’

He also recalled that the American platform Wish was referred to the courts in 2021, due to the sale of products (electrical appliances, toys and jewellery) deemed non-compliant and dangerous. An exceptional measure in France that forced the platform to review its model to be present online again. ‘It was a small American platform; with China, it’s more difficult,’ Rivoallan pointed out.

The bill will therefore be subject to a formal vote in the Sénat on June 10, 2025. As the government has triggered the accelerated procedure, the next step will be a joint committee to reconcile the versions of the two chambers.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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