Fast fashion news and archive

France consumes more new fashion than ever amid transition to circularity

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...

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French Senate to vote on regulating fast fashion

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...

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Podcast: Is fast fashion ruining thrifting?

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...

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25 consumer organisations file complaint against Shein over misleading practices

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 ‘...

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French senate passes advertising ban for fast fashion

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...

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French Senate addresses the challenge of curbing the rise of ‘fast fashion’

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...

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EU approves Eco-Score methodology to assess clothing's environmental impact

On 14 May 2025, the European Commission officially approved the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology for the textile and footwear industries. Commonly referred to as the “Eco-score,” this initiative aims to measure the environmental impact of clothing and footwear across their entire life cycle. The development marks a major...

Fashion

Sweden drowns in discarded fast fashion items

Sweden's recycling centres are overflowing with clothes after an EU-wide ban this year on throwing away textiles, leaving overwhelmed municipalities eager to have fast fashion giants take responsibility. "It's a huge amount coming in everyday. It's been crazy, it's a huge increase," said Brian Kelly, secretary general of the Artikel2 charity...

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Shein says US tariff hit won't stop fast-fashion flood

Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration will not eject fast-fashion juggernaut Shein from the US market, its executive chairman Donald Tang has told AFP. The head of the online platform, which has come in for scrutiny over its environmental footprint and allegations of human rights violations, also insisted that the company does not use...

Fashion

Fast fashion? No, thanks - which brands to avoid

Non-profit organisation Remake has teamed up with Commons, an organisation that advocates for more sustainable consumer choices. A campaign is currently underway with the hashtag #NoNewClothes, calling on consumers to boycott fast fashion and spend less for a month. Given the reduced purchasing power of consumers who are very careful about their...

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No new clothes: S. Korean climate activist targets hyperconsumption

Recovering South Korean shopaholic-turned-climate activist Lee So-yeon used to buy new clothes almost daily -- until a $1.50 winter coat triggered an awakening that stopped her shopping entirely. While looking at the ultra-cheap padded jacket at an H&M shop in the United States, where she was working at the time, Lee asked herself how any item...

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Fashion |Opinion

Most consumers know cheap fashion isn’t sustainable—so why do they keep buying it?

Despite growing awareness of the fashion industry's negative impact, consumers continue to purchase affordable, trendy clothes from fast fashion brands and retail giants. Why is that? How can these two realities coexist? The inspiration for this piece comes from a recent article published by Dutch investigative journalism platform De...