This is a text around which the most polarized hemicycle of the Fifth Republic could well unite. After receiving the green light from the Sustainable Development Commission last week, the bill which promises to “bring out of fashion fast fashion” is preparing to enter the National Assembly. And will be examined this Thursday, March 14 by all deputies.
The text undertakes “to establish a legislative framework to regulate the commercial practices of clothing and accessories collections with very rapid renewal, in order to reduce their environmental impact and promote more sustainable consumption”. And for good reason, as the rapporteur of the bill, Horizons MP Anne-Cécile Violland, points out, the sale of clothing at knockdown prices is only made “possible to the detriment of respect for basic social and environmental requirements.” “.
Implementation of a penalty
Welcomed by all opposition groups, the proposed law thus provides for a bouquet of measures aimed at putting out of business companies which market cheap, poor quality clothing, and whose manufacturing conditions exceed by several meters the standards imposed in Europe. Cited several times, the Chinese textile giant Shein and its “7,200 new clothing models per day” – or “900 times more products” than a traditional brand in France – stands out in particular as the typical incarnation of fast fashion.
And the deputies understood it well: to destroy a sector, nothing is more effective than to hit the wallet directly. To do this, the Horizons parliamentary group proposes establishing a “bonus-malus”, so that the prices of clothing include “environmental costs”. Which, let’s say it, are far from being negligible in an industry that consumes so much water and electricity. If the law is adopted, the maximum penalty could reach 10 euros per item sold by 2030, and within a limit of 50% of the sale price.
Fight against unfair competition
“The price signal thus sent will better reflect the reality of the environmental impact of the product, giving the French an opportunity to question the model that their consumption can support and, possibly, to turn to better quality clothing and more sustainable”, argued the rapporteur of the text in committee on Thursday March 7.
And MP Horizons clarified that it was not a tax. “The State will not receive a single cent of these contributions” which will be redistributed immediately. The aim is to significantly reduce the prices of sustainable clothing, encourage the purchase of second-hand items or even “finance the cost of repairing clothing and shoes for all”.
A parallel way of “ensuring fairer competition”, adds Anne-Cécile Violland, who recalls that French and European textile companies are subject to much stricter social and environmental standards, and to much higher production costs. higher. A “crucial issue”, believes the MP, even more so after “decades of production relocation and a division by three of the number of jobs in the textile industry since 1990”.
Advertising soon to be banned
Still with the idea of locking down the strike force of fast fashion companies as much as possible, the legislator also wants to ban “all forms of advertising”. No more targeted advertising on the internet. Exit any form of collaboration for advertising purposes. Exit – and the list is not exhaustive – the “hauls” (Editor’s note, video in which a person talks about items they recently purchased, detailing their experience with the brand) in which influencers unbox their free purchases , and sent by brands for advertising purposes.
“This is not a radical measure, but rather common sense if we want to take our climate objectives seriously and continue the work of bringing the advertising sector into line with them, which the legislator has started with the Climate and Resilience law”, Anne-Cécile Violland defended herself in committee in reference to the text promulgated in August 2021, aiming to fight against climate change.
Raise consumer awareness
In addition, the deputies are banking on the development of ecological awareness among consumers, who are increasingly sensitive to environmental issues, but who have not necessarily understood the responsibility of the textile industry in climate change. It is “for example” little known that the textile industry represents around 10% of greenhouse gas emissions – much more than the aviation and maritime sectors combined.
This is why article 1 of the bill provides for the mandatory insertion on websites of an information and consumer awareness message on the environmental impact of this industry. Notification which will be accompanied by a communication encouraging the reuse, recycling and repair of clothing and accessories.