Expert analyzes

Law against cheap fashion planned in France

France is planning a law against fast fashion manufacturers. The aim of this initiative is to force fashion giants such as Shein and H&M to fundamentally rethink their sales strategies Circular economy expert Lisa Tamina Panhuber from Greenpeace analyzes the measure.

France is currently debating a law to prevent fashion companies from selling cheap clothing. Advertising for so-called fast fashion is to be banned in future and the introduction of penalty fees is being considered.

The reason for the measure: the fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world. It produces between 5 and 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. "85 percent of clothing emissions are generated during production - dyeing, finishing and spinning the fibers account for the largest share. However, a single law cannot solve the problem; we need a strong package and, ideally, EU-wide common regulations such as the EU Supply Chain Act," analyzes circular economy expert Lisa Tamina Panhuber from Greenpeace.

Promoting alternatives such as second-hand
As previous voluntary initiatives have not brought any improvement, legislation is needed. "On the one hand, politicians need to limit fast fashion - restrictions on advertising, levies for those products that cause particularly high levels of pollution and exploitation," says the expert. But alternatives such as second-hand, renting and repairing clothes must also be promoted. "These measures can be implemented immediately in Austria."

On average, we buy more than 60 items of clothing every year in Austria and Germany. However, many of them are hardly ever used - in a survey in 2023, respondents in Austria said that they don't wear around a quarter of their clothes at all or almost never wear them.