Escalating tariffs on every piece of throwaway clothing contrast with Jeremy Hunt’s eagerness to host a multibillion-pound Chinese IPO
that signalled a new low for the fast fashion industry last week. Spotted on an Instagram ad for US customers, it was the latest in an aggressive campaign by Chinese retailer Temu to win market share. Just when you thought fashion couldn’t get any more disposable – it just did., rising to €10 on each item of clothing by 2030.
Make no mistake, France has this industry in its sights. The country’s luxury goods sector is a highly valued national asset, built on quality materials and products that are designed to last. The sector is not about to let the Chinese discounters steal its lunch. The rise ofhas allowed the distribution of these goods to become smarter and more cost efficient.
Damage, because fast fashion is a product that is quickly used and discarded, often at huge cost to planet and people. Fast usually means cheap, which means synthetic materials that do not biodegrade and are tricky to recycle, with cheap labour sourced from unregulated markets linked to human rights abuses.
France has form in standing up to such abuses. It has had a form of extended producer responsibility in place since 2007 – a scheme the EU is proposing to roll out soon. Like smoking, drink-driving and plastic bags, France deems fast fashion a threat to societal health and is legislating against it. And it’s not just stick, it’s also carrot: late last year the country launched ato encourage people to mend clothes and shoes rather than throw them away.
The same cannot be said over this side of the Channel. The inexorable rise of these retailers – Shein’s number of users has grown by nearly 20 times since 2018, sending its value to $66bn – has its venture capitalists rubbing their hands for an IPO. Shein initially tried its luck in New York, but was soon seen off by legislators who demanded more supply chain transparency than the company wanted to give.