“A French Member of Parliament has called for a €5 levy on SHEIN fashion products” - Brett Mathews, Apparel Insider

Brett Matthews, an Editor for Apparel Insider, has written an article regarding the recent news about a €5 levy being imposed in France upon the fast-fashion retailer giant, Shein. He writes in his article the following: 

 

“The bill was proposed by deputy of The Republicans (LR) Antoine Vermorel-Marques. The MP hopes the bill will be taken up by Christophe Béchu, Minister of Ecological Transition. 

 

Vermorel-Marques claims French retailers face unfair competition from brands such as SHEIN which don’t have to adhere to the same social and environmental standards. 

 

"[These] large companies do not create any jobs on European and French soil, export their products 100 per cent by plane and do not respect our environmental, social and even sometimes health criteria. This is unfair competition vis-à-vis all French textile manufacturers." 

 

"What we recommend is a bonus-malus system so that the 'Made in France' is cheaper and the 'made in China' is more expensive. You buy a T-shirt on one of the big online platforms that does not have shops in France, it is a T-shirt that pollutes enormously so we will put a penalty on the principle of the polluter pays." 

 

There has been talk for some time in the US about what to do regarding cheap fast #fashion consignments from China; and whether the de minimus ruling which allows Shein consignments of US$800 or less to enter the US duty-free needs rethinking. 

 

These comments from the French MP are the first time a political party member from Europe has directly confronted this - a huge issue for European fashion retailers. 

 

He may have opened a huge can of worms.” 

 

Click here to see Brett’s LinkedIn post and here to view his Apparel Insider article.