The lower chamber of the French Parliament unanimously approved a groundbreaking bill aimed at slowing down the fast-paced, fast-fashion industry, making France the first nation in the world to take aim at the influx of cheap, mass-produced clothing, mostly from China, reported Fox News.
One of the major global generators of greenhouse gas emissions is the fashion sector. In an effort to combat the environmental damage that fast fashion items create, France is attempting to lessen their appeal.
The bill was unanimously adopted by lawmakers on Thursday, allowing the Senate to study it and decide whether to approve it or amend it and send it back to the lower house before it can become law.
The vote was praised as a historic step toward controlling the "excesses" of rapid fashion by Christophe Bechu, the minister for ecological transformation. The bill will enact strict regulations, such as outlawing the promotion of the cheapest fabrics and charging these low-priced goods an environmental fee.
The bill notably calls out fast fashion corporations, requiring them to reveal the environmental effect of their products. With this change, the sector hopes to adopt more environmentally friendly procedures while promoting accountability and openness.
The goal of the law is to protect France's highly valued high fashion industry while also promoting environmental protection. Coincidentally, this occurs the same week that French President Emmanuel Macron presented France's highest civilian award, the Légion d'Honneur, to LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault in a star-studded private ceremony that included Beyoncé.
Known for its high-end labels like Chanel and Louis Vuitton controlled by LVMH, fast fashion retailers like Zara and H&M, as well as the rising Chinese giants Shein and Temu, have severely impacted France's lower-end market sectors.
France hopes to level the playing field and encourage a more sustainable garment industry by enforcing these regulations.
Producers like Shein, however, have refuted the criticism, maintaining that their quick-turnaround business strategy efficiently keeps the percentage of unsold clothing very low. They contend that this helps cut waste, which is an essential component of fashion sustainability.
Luxury behemoths like LVMH and Kering are frequently criticized for their yearly billions of dollars' worth of unsold inventory.
The bill's French proponents contend that it opens the door for other measures, such as a suggested EU-wide export ban on used apparel, to address the growing issue of textile waste./BGNES