New French anti fast-fashion bill

[Misthios]

AIBU to think this is a great idea??

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-lawmakers-approve-bill-apply-penalties-fast-fashion-2024-03-14/

Having read the article, the French are taking a range of actions to deal with the disposable nature of Shein, Temu and similar retailers, banning all advertising, imposing penalties on each item of up to 10 euros (although it doesn't say how this will be done or enforced) Already in place in France is the possibility to claim back money you spend getting a new sole on your shoes, or repairing clothes. They are also proposing an EU-wide ban on exporting textiles out of the EU, so all those mountains of things bought, worn once and discarded are the EU's problem, not Africa/Asia's problem.

I think it's brilliant and totally a step in the right direction - but one thing strikes me is that France don't seem to have a second-hand or charity shop sector like we do here, they MUST have some sort of Vinted or Ebay or something, or does the average French person not "do" second hand?

I think it’s absolutely brilliant too… good on the French!

Great idea.

France does have second hand and charity shops and some people who use things like vinted. Also, there's always leboncoin!

Read it properly :
"Shein said in a statement to Reuters that the clothes it produces meet an existing demand, which allows its rate of unsold garments to remain consistently in low single digits, whereas traditional players can have up to 40% waste."

It added that the only impact of the bill would be to "worsen the purchasing power of French consumers, at a time when they are already feeling the impact of the cost-of-living crisis".

So it won't do anything for the environment, just help the larger retailers corner the market. Zara isn't any better an employer overseas and the finish in it's garments is really low quality.

"They are also proposing an EU-wide ban on exporting textiles out of the EU, "

So what are they going to do with the 40% of stock not sold by the likes of Zara? People in Africa actually rely on the second gand clothing sent.

Interesting - I haven't seen charity shops on the scale we have here, although i suppose they have more flea markets and that sort of thing.

Shein says it is meeting demand - well they would say that, wouldn't they? They are adding thousands of new lines a day (many ripped off from other brands but hey, it's cheap). https://apparelinsider.com/shein-9000-new-lines-a-day-and-esg-investing/

They have pioneered the model of clothing as an impulse purchase, something disposable, doesn't matter if the quality is shit because you're only ever going to wear it three times and then bin it and buy something else. All this creates is massive mountains of unwanted and useless textiles.

Fashion waste is a massive issue and although no legislation will ever be 100% perfect, this is a really good step in the right direction, especially twinned with incentives for mending/repairing.

Maybe it’s out of date now, but I do remember reading that rather than buying relatively cheap things, French women would tend to save like mad for ‘something good’ and then wear it to death.

Vinted is in Europe. I'd say there are more French buyers and sellers than any other country. All the professional sellers I see on there always seem to be French too, so anecdotally I'd say they're very keen on second hand.

@Ponoka7 They would say that though, wouldn't they?

Tobacco companies complain about smoking reduction laws, oil producers and petrochemical companies complain about reducing oil product consumption and both secretly fund 'charities' and 'think tanks' which are into climate and harm denialism.

Consumption, slave labour and emissions must be reduced and this law goes a little way to redress it

I would imagine the idea is that all retailers will have to take steps to reduce their waste and excessive "churn" of items.

Last year the charity shop where I volunteered received a corporate donation from Zara, mostly internet returns which people had ordered and decided weren't right for whatever reason. We had about 90 boxes filled with 100% perfect items - coats, jackets, dresses, tops - the lot. Across the entire chain we all had similar volumes. there must have been thousands of boxes of the stuff. Now it's great that this stock is being donated to charity and not binned. And some of the items were decent quality. But a lot of it wasn't nice, poorly made from poor quality materials.

And in West Africa where most of these items go, there's really no call for wooly winter jumpers, puffer jackets, and very wintery clothing, is there?

I think that's the ethos we need to get back to.

I remember being a teenager in about 1992 and paying £18 for a pair of jeans in a not particularly expensive store, that was a lot of money when you're earning about £3 an hour. Now all the supermarkets and primark and shein and the rest of them are churning out jeans at the same price as they were 30 years ago.

I expect that companies will find ways to reduce the high levels of wastage when it becomes their problem to solve. Kind of like the plastic packaging tax here suddenly meant that companies could reduce the single use plastic in their packaging.

And I thought part of the problem with sending old clothes to Africa is that it undermines local clothing industries?

of course we have second hand hand shop. And the french vinted is actually so much better than the uk one but it can only be accessed with a french address and a french card - i tried to buy something from
BA&SH for my niece but it didnt work so my sister had to do it

Absolutely yes
amd we also do 1 in so 2 out

the french also have anti food waste laws ( anti gaspi) which make wholesale disposal of edible food illegal if it is edible it has to be given away not destroyed if inedible it is for composting or livestock etc. there is a similar law about clothes whether high street or top end designer labels must not destroy or spoil unsold items to "protect" brand

Edible food has to be given to places like Les Restos du Coeur

I thought EU laws prevented food waste being given to livestock.

Food waste is a separate - but related - issue. I think we're getting better at that in the UK too, lots of reduced to clear in supermarkets, Olio, too good to go, link ups between supermarkets and food banks or other charities. But fashion until now has just not been interested in reducing their waste, there is not nearly as much attention as there is on food waste.

Misthios
What on watt are you talking about "France don't seem to have a second-hand or charity shop sector like we do here"?

Do you live in France?

Vinted is alive and booming in France, as well as charity shops such as Gresy.
Most towns have excellent recycling shops where clothes and housewares are donated and sold on.

Not to mention the brocantes and flea markets.

Please check what you are writing next time, you sound very uneducated as to the reality

Yes, good for the French. I fucking hate these dodgy Chinese sites.

@imustbeanidiot No I don't live in France. I have visited as a tourist - both urban and rural - and can't remember seeing charity shops on the scale we have in the UK with all the major charities having shops and in most towns there are at least 3 or 4.

And clearly as a visitor you're not browsing French vinted, are you?

No charity shops are not a thing in France, not the way it exists in the UK.
There are thrift shops though.

‘Thrift shops’ are what they call charity shops across the pond.

A Dsis who lives in a very affluent area of Cape Cod has found some brilliant bargains in her local thrift shop - for me. 🙂 Things that wouldn’t fit her anyway, I’m taller and at least a size bigger.

I remember paying £4 (early 70s) for a T shirt - it seemed an awful lot then - my take-home was about £100 a month, out of which I was paying rent and running a car.
But that T shirt lasted ages and kept its shape after masses of washes.

Dd is currently elsewhere in Europe volunteering for Emmaus International sorting clothes for their shops, which they also have in France. It sounds very like the UK model of charity shops to me.